


Different Kind of Detective

by Pancake_Prince



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi POV, Akechi-Centric, M/M, NG+, POV Alternating, Time Loop, except no one knows who the true culprit is, fateswap au, shuake
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 01:03:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 150,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16822018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pancake_Prince/pseuds/Pancake_Prince
Summary: Ever since the police ruled his mothers death a murder, Goro strove to become a detective at an early age.Before he can catch his mother's murderer, he's sidelined by a crooked nosed man and two twin girls into uncovering the truth behind the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns.Goro's hesitant to act on his newfound powers. That is until he learns of some individuals mysteriously changing hearts.





	1. Do you Believe in the Phantom Thieves?

Goro winces when the pungent smell hits his nose and opens his eyes to find out what that smell was supposed to be. It’s no surprise that he finds himself deep in the underground tunnels of Mementos, or rather, it explained the terrible smell.

But then... why _was_ he in Mementos? Did he forget somehow? He hadn’t been here in months, so what got his attention this time?

A case, he must have been stuck on a case and desperate enough to return to the twisting subway tunnels. There was never any other reason for him to return to such a dreadful place.

He hears the wails of a shadow coming from one end of the tunnel and decides to go in the other direction- fighting shadows with no plan was never a good idea.

_You needn’t worry, Goro, if you’ll allow it, I can be your guide_ , he hears his persona whispering to him in the back of his head, and he’s compelled to answer back.

“Then tell me, what brought me here in the first place?” Goro asks aloud but keeps his voice down to a whisper, keeping to the walls.

_The same thing as always, Detective. It’s never a different case that would have you searching for answers here._

It would never be a different case, it couldn’t be, but that only ever raised more questions than it answered.

His thoughts are disrupted by the sound of chains being dragged across the rail tracks, and he knows he’s been on the floor far longer than he should’ve been.

He hastens his pace in search of the nearest exit- even a safe room would do if it meant getting away from the Reaper, but there’s no way out from the tunnel, and the dragging only gets louder and louder.

Goro’s still desperately searching for the exit, when suddenly the chains stop, and his face is met with a gun. Not one belonging to a Reaper, but rather someone he dreaded to find down here.

“Detective Goro Akechi,” The Black Mask, as Goro had come to name him, begins in a heavily distorted, deep voice, “You truly are an idiot if you followed me down here. Of course, you always knew this is how your justice would come to an end.”

Goro smirks, hiding away just how terrified he truly was of the figure in front of him was. He of all people would know exactly what the Black Mask was capable of, “You’re a fool if you think everything will end here, you know.”

The Black Mask hums, and instead of shooting Goro with the gun, he hits him across the face with it and uses the opportunity of a momentary distraction to swipe at the detective's legs, causing him to get knocked down on his ass. The Black Mask points the gun at Goro’s forehead once more, “It’s a shame you never learned your place. How I wish we could continue this game of cat and mouse, but all good things must come to an end.”

Goro’s eyes widen when suddenly his white Detective prince costume disappears into black mist, leaving him defenceless in only his school uniform. He can just about make out the Black Masks wicked smile underneath his visor.

Black Mask pulls the trigger back.

“Case closed.”

The sound of the bullet leaving the chamber is enough to get Goro to open his eyes in the real world.

* * *

For what it was worth, the coffee from the vending machine was at least terrible enough that the watery and yet somehow mildly acidic taste it left in Goro's mouth was enough to keep him from falling asleep while looking at the board he set up on the desk at the department. He had more pressing cases than the one he'd been building over the past year, and yet his nightmare from the previous night forced him to go back to it yet again.

The nightmare was one that had been popping into Goro Akechi's head ever since he'd first stepped into Mementos and discovered the horrors of that other world. He was reluctant to go back to say the least, even if he'd been told by some sketchy old man with a crooked nose and two loli girls in prison outfits that his power was nothing to be afraid of.

It didn't once cross Akechi's mind that it wasn't complete horseshit. That only cemented the thought further when he'd barely made it out of the distorted subway alive after running into what he only assumed was another persona user.

There was that, and his unexplained ability to cause people to go psychotic. Somehow none of that was encouraging enough to send him exploring further. 

What did interest the young detective, however, were the possibilities of using that world to change the worldview of specific individuals, even if so far it only seemed to result in the individuals going temporarily insane, sliding into a coma or in some of the worst cases, death.

Knowing that someone else had access to that world only meant that now the detective had to figure out who it was. Over the past two years this person had been killing and ruining the lives of people however they pleased, and he couldn't stand for it. He already knew what it was liked having your life destroyed in a single moment caused by a greedy, self-serving individual. It was hard not to see them as his rival. 

Ever since he ran into the Black Mask last year, he'd been in a bit of a bind as to how to go about the case. He definitely couldn't tell anyone without any proof, or they'd just lock him up in a psychiatric ward and throw away the key (as a brilliant detective with a bright future he was valuable, however as a crazy orphan he was fully aware of just how disposable he was). It was all on him then to bring the true culprit to justice.

He could try and defeat them in that world but, despite being the more enticing option, the chances of it happening were slim and would more than likely result in his meaningless death.

Instead, he chose to stay outside of the Metaverse and investigated everything like a normal detective. Unfortunately, that method was far too slow for his liking, and with each day he felt like he was getting further and further away from the case.

What snaps him out of his contemplation is the metal clinking noise of a thermos hitting his desk. He looks up to find who had delivered the goods to him, and unsurprisingly it's the only person around who actually treated him with a modicum of respect,

"You look terrible."

Well almost. It was the closest thing he'd get around here. At least Niijima pretended to care. Nevertheless, he lifts up his half-empty cup of shitty coffee, "I appreciate it but I already-."

She quickly interrupts him, "it's from that cafe you like, I asked the owner if he could pour your usual order into this since I knew you'd be too busy to get any drinkable coffee yourself."

Goro glances down at his coffee-water, and well... She wasn't wrong about that. He gets out of his chair and makes his way to the nearest sink- the men's bathroom--to pour out the rest of what he had in the cup, then retreats back to his desk to pour the blend into it, "I appreciate it, Niijima-San, thank you. Although it does make me wonder why you came here offering gifts like these in the first place. Did you perhaps take a wrong turn on the way to the courthouse?" he chides, and it only has her rolling her eyes.

"If I knew you were going to be as insufferable as always then I guess I never should have come here," she turns around and just as she expected, Goro promptly gets out of his seat and runs around her to block her path.

"No, I'm sorry, if this is what I think it's about then I won't be a bother. What can I help you with?"

Niijima hides a victorious grin, but there's enough hesitation that Goro notices her lips twitching, deducing as much. She begins to pull out several papers from a manila file, setting them down on Goro's desk. The last one is a small, red paper card which catches his attention first. He picks it up and reads the back of it, "this reads like a child playing cops and robbers... Please enlighten me as to what you want me to do with this."

"While I agree that this calling card is somewhat lacking, it does seem to be legitimate and its effects have already surfaced," Niijima informs him, "the PE teacher who this was directed at has just today admitted to multiple counts of sexual assault and physical assault to many of his students. Some claim it was like he was an entirely different person, like he-."

"Had a change of heart," Goro finishes for her, looking over the card, "I see, and you believe its connected to the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns because both of those cases also involve individuals mysteriously changing personalities," he deduces and sets the card down.

While the method used in this may have been similar, Goro was certain the Metaverse was involved in some way or another. Then the question was; did the Black Mask change MO or is there someone else using the Metaverse as well?

No, neither of those hypotheses were possible. The Black Mask had been relentlessly causing mayhem in the same manner for the past two years and no one was getting closer than he was to the case.

The idea that a third party was involved seemed even more absurd, but then there was nothing to disprove it entirely...

Or perhaps he was wrong altogether and this is just a coincidence after all? There was only one way to find out, he thought, and it was what he dreaded that he'd have to do sooner rather than later.

Realising that Niijima was expecting him to share some of his thoughts on the case without prompting him, he clears his throat awkwardly and begins lying through his teeth, "while perhaps there may be some connection, it's a little early to think any of the cases are related. For one, I don't think anyone has anything to gain from this case unlike the others where usually one, albeit random, party benefitted from each tragedy. Uh, that isn't to say this Kamoshida person shouldn't have confessed to his crimes, merely that I don't quite see any sort of malice behind the actions of whoever got him to confess. That being said, extracting a confession out of a gym teacher is far more different than causing a high-level employee of a food company to fall into a vegetative state."

He puts all of the files together into a neat pile, "I assume these are copies, yes?" Niijima nods, "In that case I will keep them. If I find any connection, I'll let you know."

That last part may not have been entirely a lie, Niijima could definitely be useful to him in this situation. The two were separately investigating this after all, and if he was withholding information from her then no doubt, she was keeping some secrets from him.

But he couldn't tell her about the Black Mask. Not yet.

He needed to find out who the Phantom Thieves were first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!  
> Quick explanation: Goro doesn't know who his father is, he does have the same powers as before but he is not /the/ Black Mask. Everything beyond this will be explained in due time.


	2. Alone no More

Goro decides to leave through the back of the police department, and ducks into the first alleyway he sees. He crouches down, placing the briefcase on the ground in front of him. He opens it up and carefully removes his jacket in exchange for the hoodie inside, following it up with a black cap he kept inside as well and a face mask. The last thing he pulls out is a black foil bag, which he wraps the briefcase in once he closes it. When everything’s done, he hides the briefcase behind a dumpster and leaves the alleyway.

It wasn’t the most stylish way of getting around without getting spotted, but it was all he could do with the limited funds he had. This way at least he could get around Shibuya without getting recognised.

He leaves the general area by heading towards the nearest subway, keeping his head low even with the face mask covering half of his face and the hoodie pulled up to cover his quite specific hair.

The subway ride is uneventful, and soon enough Goro finds himself hidden away in on particular corner of Shibuya station. He glances around first to make sure no one was paying attention to him before pulling the phone up to his lips, “Mementos,” he whispers and the world around him distorts entirely, the people in the subway slowing their movements before disappearing completely.

He puts his phone away, and the moment he walks over to the turnstiles blue flames surround him until his white princely outfit replaces the hoodie and slacks, he was wearing, a red mask resembling that of a plague doctor cover his eyes, removing the face mask.

In the corner of his eye, he sees the dreaded entrance to the Velvet Room, but not once does he consider going into the prison. Instead, he decides to head down into Mementos in hopes that maybe the Shadows would know what was happening. He’d be happy if they could even give him a hint and he wouldn’t run into the Black Mask anymore.

He decides to start off easy, not having been in the Metaverse in quite some time he realises that he may be a little rusty. Keeping to the upper levels at first, he attacks each shadow he runs into head on, taking it out instantly with Robin Hood.

He didn’t dare pull Loki out for one second.

Eventually he reaches a floor with a waiting room and he cautiously takes a seat in the sole booth on the platform. He waits about ten minutes before realising no Shadow was coming after him, and he reaches into his pocket for the bun he kept inside. He knows it would make him feel stronger and help him get through the underground, something he only figured out on his third trip to the Metaverse.

If only he had someone who could’ve explained it all to him a year ago…

Suddenly he hears some shouts coming from the moving staircase and he jumps out of his chair. Goro briefly considers pulling his lightsabre on what he initially assumed was a Shadow, however he quickly realises that the voice was far less distorted than that of anything he’d come across, and in fact sounded completely normal

_The Black Mask didn’t have accomplices… did they?_

Not taking any chances, he hides behind one of the pillars by the platform. It was probably safest to wait out the newcomers and then quickly hurry back to the surface.

_No, I haven’t gotten any answers yet. I can’t just cower away._

As the voices get closer, he finally makes a decision. He’d wait behind the pillar until he was certain whether these people could be considered friend or foe. If the former, then perhaps they had the answers to his questions. If not… well, he would just have to be on the lookout for more than just shadows on his trip.

“Dude you wiped out that slimey thing in an instant!” He hears the first voice that clearly belonged to a teenager. In his head, this person just became ‘Vulgar boy’.

“Totally! I wish I had that kind of power… hey Mona, do you think maybe we’ll be able to actually collect Persona’s like Joker does?” This was definitely a girl speaking, and until he got a name, she would be ‘Airhead’ in Goro’s mind.

What Goro assumed to be Mona, hums, “I don’t think so… this guy’s powers are pretty unique. I’ve never come across anything like it before.”

“Oh, come on, then you gotta know how you got these extra powers, right?” The vulgar boy asks.

“There was some long-nosed man…” The last of the group, Joker, Goro assumed, says in a much quieter voice compared to the rest.

In fact, the volume at which the rest of that group was speaking only confirmed Goro’s suspicion that the place was in fact some kind of safe zone of Mementos. There was no way they wouldn’t have attracted some Shadows otherwise.

Wait.

Long-nosed man…? Special powers…? There was no way he wasn’t talking about Igor, right? Was there some other long-nosed man giving random kids super-powers and sending them to this place?

When he phrased it that way, it just came off creepy, Goro thought to himself as he continued to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“The hell are you talking about?” The vulgar boy asks, but apparently, he’s quick to drop all questioning, “Well whatever, I guess even I wouldn’t be able ta describe how I can use a persona to fight Shadows in… what was this placed called again?”

“Ugh! You never listen, do you, Skull?” Mona says in a very frustrated voice, “We’re in Mementos, it’s the collective unconscious of the public, how much more do I have to explain?”

Collective unconscious huh? It would certainly explain why some of the individuals he’d once ran into here seemingly had no idea he’d ever met them once he left the place and investigated said individuals.

“Uh… literally all of it?” Skull, as Goro had just learned, replies.

These people were as clueless as he was, probably even more so. They definitely weren’t here to cause any harm, or if they were Goro was sure his persona was powerful enough to stop even four of them. Though treating them as an enemy was perhaps counter-intuitive. The Mona character had some idea of what was going on, and if he played his cards right, Goro could use a group like theirs to his advantage.

He takes the opportunity to reveal himself, a need for perfectly timed dramatic entrances rising within him. He slowly walks out from behind the pillar while speaking, “It is simply a way of saying how each individual views themselves in society as well as how all of society perceives itself. It’s quite a simple concept to wrap your head around, Skull,” he states nonchalantly to the already defensive group.

As soon as he’d revealed himself, the one who he knew would be Skull based on his attire, had pulled a metal pipe in front of him for protection. The only woman in the group, the airhead as Goro had named her temporarily, was reaching to pull off her mask and summon her persona. The one at the front, the leader as Goro suspected, had his gun trained on him. He must’ve been Joker, or else Mona’s voice has yet to drop. Which left only one other person… although he could hardly call whatever Mona was a person. The… cat thing had a sabre pulled out in his direction, “How the hell do you know my name?! And how do you know that?!” Skull shouts.

“He was obviously eavesdropping on us!” Mona reveals to all, “But… there shouldn’t be anyone else down here but us! I totally should’ve felt it if there was another persona user here!”

Goro looks over each of them closely, now paying attention to more details. If Mona hadn’t said it, the outfits had already confirmed that they were like him- persona users (the alternative being a group of extremely dedicated cosplayers although that seemed unlikely even in these circumstances). The way they all held their weapons showed just how inexperienced they were in any form of combat, and the way they spoke only further cemented that. It was already obvious to Goro who these people were.

“You’re the Phantom Thieves, correct?” Goro asks them without answering any questions, “Of course you are, a mere individual such as myself wouldn’t have been able to pull off what you did in Shujin Academy.”

 _I’m getting cocky_ , Goro thinks, _it’ll be easy enough for me to determine who these people are now that I’ve seen and heard them, but they have no idea who I am. If I show that I know too much, they may figure me out in no time_ , “I’ve read some online rumours about you,” he quickly adds on before they could ask how he knew.

“That doesn’t sound suspicious at all,” the airhead points out, “Joker, what should we do?”

Joker narrows his eyes as he looks Goro over, and slowly lowers his gun, “If he wanted to attack us, he wouldn’t have revealed himself like that when we’re on high alert… If you don’t want a fight, then why did you talk to us?”

At least one of them seemed semi-intelligent. Good. The dumber they were the easier it would be to manipulate them, “For now, all I require is information of this place. You…” he looks down at the cat creature, “Mona, yes? You seem to know what this place is, more so than the rest of your group. Mind telling me more details on this place, and how to best get around?”

“Huh?” Mona lowers his sabre too, and eventually Skull and the airhead comply as well, “You don’t know? But you’re all the way here, and on your own?”

“Heh…” Goro flashes his best innocent smile and rubs the back of his head, “Perhaps it’s more dumb luck than it is skill…”

_Liar._

He didn’t frequent Mementos often but when he did, he was sure that he knew as much as he could about each opponent before initiating the fight. He planned his moves careful. Luck would just get him killed.

“Wait!” The airhead shouts, “We don’t even know this guy’s name! How are we supposed to trust that he’s not like a cognition or something! I mean we saw me in Kamoshida’s Palace, right?”

Perhaps Goro was too quick to call her an airhead after all.

Mona shakes his head, “No, he’s definitely a persona user, but you’re right, Panther. We can’t even begin to trust you before we get a name.”

Goro rolls his eyes underneath the mask, “What good would a name do you? With this mask it’s simple for me to just give out a fake name. Although I suppose the names I know all of you by are just English codenames… in that case, you may refer to me as Crow for the time being.”

“What do you want to know?” Joker asks first.

“Everything I can know about this world,” Crow replies which only makes Joker grin.

“How about we just show you then?”

* * *

The rest of his trip is… strange to say the least, and it started right off the bat when suddenly the creature who resembled a cat and talked had suddenly turned into a bus. Crow decides to leave the questioning for another time.

Instead, he moves silently into the back seat next to Panther while Skull and Joker take the two front seats. They travel in silence until Panther speaks up, “So like… you gotta be in high school too, right? You don’t really look any younger or older than us… but then you kinda talk like you’re an adult or something.”

Before answering, Crow weighs his options in his head. He still wasn’t comfortable in giving too much away, but if he lied too often, he’d only get caught up in it, “I… my company is more often formed of adults than not. If I want to be taken seriously by them then I have to address them as they would anyone else their age… as such it’s become a habit, but yes, you are correct in thinking that I am still in high school.”

“Then ya might as well tell us your real name,” Skull says, “If you don’t go to Shujin then we probably won’t recognise ya anyway, and even if you do then like… what are we gonna say?”

Crow shakes his head, “No. I… I’m not so sure I can trust you yet.”

Skull turns around in his seat, moving his legs so that he’s kneeling on the passenger seat, “Well creepin’ up on us like earlier ain’t gonna help us trust ya either. D’you got anything to hide from some random people you met in a place like this?”

Apart from all of his personal issues regarding mental health and to a certain extent his own sanity? Probably yes, though there was nothing in particular he’d be revealing alongside his identity that he didn’t want others to know. So then why was he feeling the need to be so secretive?

No, he needed to be patient. If they all discovered, he worked with the police then they would become far less open to the idea of working with him. It was in his best interest to keep as much of his true identity a secret while gaining the trust of the Phantom Thieves.

His deep-seated trust issues may have something to do with it, “That’s… I suppose you’re right. Still I don’t think I’d be so comfortable sharing my identity so-,”

“Amamiya Ren,” Joker introduces himself first, removing his mask, “That’s my real name. Next to you is Takamaki Ann and next to me is Sakamoto Ryuji,” he says with no hesitation and it leaves Skull and Panther baffled and speechless.

“You’re quite confident if you’re so quick to reveal everyone’s names to me so easily,” Crow chuckles, the brutal honesty of it all throwing him for a loop. All the while it was quite refreshing, having someone be so direct with him, “You trust me that much?”

In the front seat, Amamiya just shrugs, “What good is knowing our real names to you?”

“I could hand you over to the police,” Crow answers immediately, “They’re rather interested in finding out if these Phantom Thieves are merely a joke or if they truly are somehow involved.”

“And then what?” Amamiya questions further, “The only way to prove that we did it is by revealing that this world exists, right? It’s easier said than done.”

“But not impossible,” Crow points out and looks out of the window, sighing in resignation, “But I suppose at the end of the day you have not committed any crimes… yet.”

“Yet?!” Sakamoto shouts, jumping back to sit normally in his seat, “The hell you mean by that?!”

“Have you perhaps heard of the mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown incidents?” Crow asks but none of them say anything, “I know it’s connected to this world, and if you know how to change a person’s heart then what’s to say you don’t also know how to cause the other two?”

If there was one thing he was certain of, then it’s that the Black Mask wasn’t hiding amongst the group, and even if he was, revealing this information to a larger group would only cause them to become unsettled by it. Either way it was a win in his direction.

“What’s with all of this questioning anyway?” Takamaki asks, locking her eyes on him, “I mean of course we don’t know anything about that, but like, why are you so interested in all of this? Is that what brought you here in the first place?”

Crow nods slowly, coming up with some kind of excuse on the fly, “Call it morbid curiosity. I… If you want to know what I’m trying to achieve by coming here, it’s uncovering the truth about those cases.”

“Huh…” Takamaki briefly looks away and giggles, “You kinda remind me of that detective… uh… oh! Akechi, I think. Yeah, that guy on TV. You kinda sound like him too…”

Was he really that see-through? It makes him laugh, and luckily it’s a natural one too, nothing that his viewers would’ve heard, “Oh please, he’s just some pretentious pretty-boy who’s more charm and looks than he is an actual detective. If anything, he’s most likely just good PR for the police department right now.”

Nothing like self-depreciation at 5 in the afternoon with some random people he met outside of reality.

“So… Not a fan?” Sakamoto asks and Crow scoffs in reply.

“Hardly. Although, Takamaki-san, if you meant that in a way to compliment my intelligence, my deduction skills or even my determination then I am very grateful for it,” Crow smiles at her, “Perhaps one day, if we are to work together then I will be able to share more about myself. As for now, I would really appreciate it if you told me more about yourselves.”

“Before that-,” Amamiya cuts in, “There’s something I have to ask. If there’s someone causing the, uh, mental shutdowns and the other thing, and it’s neither you nor any of us, wouldn’t that mean that there’s someone out there who’s also a persona-user?”

A man of few words, Amamiya Ren was clearly someone Crow needed to look out for the most in order for his plan to succeed. He caught on to everything quickly, and if Crow wasn’t careful with his words then the game would be up, “Unless one of you is hiding something from the rest, then yes there is that distinct possibility.”

“We don’t know anything about you,” Amamiya points out, “How can we know that you’re not the one behind it either?”

Crow chuckles, once again pleased to have a conversation where he didn’t already know what the other would ask him, “I suppose there’s nothing to prove my innocence, is there? You’ll have to take my word on it for now as I will yours, otherwise we will be left at an impasse. Hopefully in time we’ll both come to realise that neither one of us is the culprit behind those cases.”


	3. Playing Your Cards Right

After showcasing less than even a quarter of his power to the Thieves, Goro bids them goodbye and leaves Mementos while the group stay behind to take care of some other kind of business.

As he leaves the subway, the world contorts back into the reality he knew, his princely outfit going back to the hoodie, face mask and cap combo he had going before entering Mementos.

He was fairly content with what he managed to eventually learn from the Thieves.

For one, most of his suspicions about the cognitive world appeared to be correct, from what Shadows were down to how items brought in from the outside world usually had some kind of effect in the cognitive world as well.

Secondly, he discovered that having more than one persona was out of the ordinary, and that the only one for now who seemed to possess a similar power to his was their leader, Joker. In which case hiding Loki away from them was a wise call.

Thirdly, beyond Mementos were individuals who viewed the world in such a corrupt way that they each had their own smaller version of Mementos which they ruled over, or as Mona called it, a Palace. While it was interesting to hear just how the process of stealing one’s heart went about, it was of little interest to Crow. If he understood correctly, the Black Mask could not have a Palace, his true self manifesting as a persona.

It must’ve been what they were using to enact the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns, Goro thought, but unless he was certain of who they would be targeting, there was little reason for Crow to visit Palaces alongside the Phantom Thieves. It was a safer bet to sneak around Mementos.

Which left Goro questioning where he would go from there. While the Phantom Thieves could be the ones behind the shutdowns, there was little reason to suspect them for now given how generally incompetent they all seemed. As such, the options were limited; forget the cognitive world entirely and focus on the investigation in the real world, but that wasn’t wielding any results, or he could scour Mementos in search of clues and perhaps even the culprit himself. If he was careful and quiet, he could even uncover his identity. It would take a lot of time and a lot of patience, but it seemed far more effective than what he’d been doing till now.

He decides to retreat for the time being and makes his way back to the back entrance of the police department. Once he retrieves his briefcase, as usual unmoved, he leaves the alleyway, fixing his tie on the way back to the subway station. He doesn’t go home, not yet. The night is still young and despite the fatigue that came with a trip to the Metaverse, he isn’t quite ready to call it a night.

There's still one place he wants to visit today.

* * *

The bells of Leblanc chime as they always do whenever a new customer appears, with it the distinct smell of the café itself swirled around Goro’s senses, a mix of coffee beans and curry. Showing a practiced smile, he greets the owner like he always had since discovering the café, “Good evening Sakura-san.”

“Akechi-kun?” Boss looks up from the newspaper and he shakes his head, “Haven’t seen you here in weeks, kid. I could tell you were busy from all of your TV appearances,” he sets the newspaper on the counter and starts working on Goro’s preferred blend.

Goro chuckles lightly and sets his briefcase on the bar stool closest to the exit while sitting on the stool next to that one, the usual seat, “I’m sure you know Sae-san had brought me coffee from you today, it made me… nostalgic. You are correct in thinking that I am busy, however.”

“Couldn’t stay away for too long, huh?” Boss asks, and he’s given a reply in the form of an enthusiastic nod, “Got a new part-timer while you were away in case you were wonderin’. Don’t be surprised if one day you find some kid in glasses behind the bar instead of me. He’s learning but don’t give him any slack, alright?”

Goro laughs a little, pulling out the small notebook and pen he kept inside his school jacket, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The bells of the door chime again, and Goro looks up expecting to find another patron of the café, but he’s surprised when Sakura, barely looking up from the coffee he was pouring for Goro greets the newcomer with a similar gruff with which he had greeted Goro when he first started frequenting the café. It’s not the tone that bothers him, but rather the words, “Welcome back.”

“He looks new,” Goro hears from the newcomer’s direction but he doesn’t notice his lips move. Not to mention that voice certainly sounded familiar…

“Hello,” Goro greets him as well, “Are you the part-timer that Boss mentioned?” He deduces easily, and the boy just replies with a confirmatory hum.

A habit that he had picked up while working his way towards being a well-recognised detective, Goro picks each small detail of the boy in his mind. The first thing he notices was the terrible posture but given his age his arched back didn’t look quite natural- then he was doing it for a purpose. Perhaps it was to cover his face? With hair like that and glasses it was certainly difficult to look him in the eyes.

Next, he notices that he kept his hands in his pockets, a rather strange thing to do when standing in a café. Without much more to go on, there was little Goro could think of it beyond that. A nervous habit? Something to keep his hands occupied? Some method to keep his hands to himself? He isn’t quite sure.

The hum and lack of greeting spoke volumes for Goro. The boy was clearly reserved, perhaps even shy, but-

“Here’s your coffee,” Goro hears Sakura say as he sets the coffee in front of him. He’d been watching at the boy for what anyone else would consider far too long, and yet the boy remains in the same place as before, as if he wasn’t even bothered by Goro’s obvious staring.

“Ah,” the detective turns on the stool and picks up the cup of coffee. Just then, Sakura’s phone rings and the boss picks it up, quiet café now only filling up with the sounds of the muffled TV, Sakura talking on his phone and Goro slowly sipping on his coffee.

The boss quickly hangs up and starts pulling his apron off, “I’ll be closing the café early but, uh, feel free to stay longer,” he says to Goro before looking back to the part timer, “I’m leaving you in charge. It’ll be good practice for you so make sure you take his orders correctly, alright?”

Without waiting for an answer, Sakura picks his hat off the coat rack and leaves, flipping the sign over to ‘closed’ before dashing away.

The part timer strides over to the counter, setting his bag down on the ground carefully before unzipping it. Goro can barely make it out but he’s certain he sees a cat jump out of it, only to run up the stairs. Unfortunately, the dim lightning only serves to obscure it from view.

Once the part timer has his apron on, Goro gives him an encouraging smile, “You don’t have to worry about me, I don’t bite. And I’ve watched boss make my order enough times to know exactly what he uses, so if you need it then I can help you.”

“Uh… right,” the boy nods and looks around the different machinery, “I… would you mind if I practiced? On you?”

“Practiced?” Goro raises an eyebrow, but he soon catches on, “Oh, of course, practice making coffee. I suppose that would be alright, although I’m not sure whether my body, or more importantly, my wallet, can take it,” he jokes but the boy doesn’t show any change in emotion. It was almost… unsettling.

“I’ll pay for it… and we can split it with you if you’re worried it’ll keep you up all night?” The boy offers and who’s Goro to deny free coffee and company? Even if the company was that of an individual Goro was starting to think he’d misread entirely.

“Well then, how could I say no to such an offer?” Goro pulls off yet another of one of his practiced smiles, though it was far easier to do when he didn’t feel he had to force it entirely, “Although if you don’t mind, could you give me your name? I’d rather not have to constantly refer to you as ‘part timer’ in my head.”

“Amamiya Ren,” the boy offers without hesitation and the intense feeling of déjà vu almost causes Goro to drop the cup of coffee in his hand.

The voice and tone were the exact same to that of Joker, and yet this quiet and, in Goro’s opinion, ditzy boy was nothing like the confidant and calculating Joker he met earlier that day in the Metaverse. But then… was the cat Mona? It made some modicum of sense if Goro just accepted that Mona was a talking cat even in the real world.

“…what’s your name?” Amamiya asks sheepishly when Goro keeps on quietly contemplating.

“Ah, yes, I apologise,” Goro sets down his coffee in fear that anymore of this and he would end up spilling coffee everywhere, “Akechi Goro, it’s a pleasure to meet you Amamiya-kun.”

“Akechi?” Amamiya repeats, “Like the detective?”

Oh, that’s right, Takamaki mentioned him in the Metaverse, and if memory served…

_“Oh please, he’s just some pretentious pretty-boy who’s more charm and looks than he is an actual detective. If anything, he’s most likely just good PR for the police department right now.”_

He would surely have to find another café then. Playing up the persona of a charismatic detective was easy enough in a TV studio or at the police department, but this was where he came to drop all of that and relax…

Then again, that was only Crow’s opinion, right?

“Actually, yes, the very same,” Goro confirms it, “Please do not take this in the wrong way, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t go around telling anyone that I frequent this café. I like to relax here and I’m sure even Sakura-san would find it annoying if my fans kept bugging him about me.”

Amamiya catches him off guard one more time with an unexpected wink, “Your secrets safe with me detective,” he turns to the bookshelf of beans and carefully reads each label, “How does a popular detective like you find a café like this? I would’ve thought someone like you might go somewhere…” He trails off, clearly struggling to find a word that wouldn’t accidentally end up insulting the one customer in the café.

“Flashier? Trendier?” Goro offers with a light chuckle, “What would make you think that?”

“The food blog mostly,” Amamiya picks a jar of beans off the bookshelf, turns around and sets it down on the counter.

“You’ve done your research,” Goro accidentally slips out. He assumed Amamiya only heard of him for the first time today but that was in Mementos. There was no way he’d know that as Goro Akechi.

Luckily for him, Amamiya doesn’t seem to notice the little slip, “Maybe I’m secretly a fan too.”

Goro laughs genuinely as Amamiya begins brewing the coffee, “Ah, the obvious explanation of course. I may have to find a different café then.”

Despite technically only meeting for the first time now, Amamiya keeps up with his banter, “Could I bribe you to stay here with occasional free coffee?”

“I suppose free coffee and your company with it may be enough to sway me to stay,” Goro continues.

“I never said anything about my company,” Amamiya grins cheekily, “But I’ll happily offer that too.”

“It’s… not common for me to enjoy the company of those my age as I’m enjoying it right now,” Goro admits somewhat sheepishly, glancing down at his empty coffee cup, “So, then, how about that free coffee?” He lifts up the cup with a smile.

Amamiya pours a little of the coffee he had just made into two different cups, only filling them up halfway. He lifts up the cup intended for Goro but pulls back before the detective can take it from him, “Hmm… before that, I’m gonna need some reassurance that you aren’t gonna run off… How about we exchange phone numbers?”

“The stalker-type fan I see,” Goro jokes lightly, and despite that pulls out his phone, “Very well, if it will set your mind at ease… although I can’t say I’m a great conversationalist over text.”

Amamiya sets down the coffee in front of Goro and pulls out his own phone, “Don’t worry about it, I don’t text much either.”


	4. The Observer

It’s pouring down when Goro leaves his school building early that day, and he considers making a dash for the subway since he’d left his umbrella back in his small apartment. It wasn’t too far from here to the station, but unless the rain let up during his travel, then he’d become soaked running from the subway to the TV station. He remembers an offer he received before from the police department to have someone pick him up from school in an unmarked car and chauffeur him to wherever he needed to go. He’d never before taken them up on the offer, feeling like it was just a waste of their resources, but he decided that now was a good a time as any to use that resource.

It wasn’t a waste if it was to avoid getting sick, right?

Returning to the building, he pulls out his phone and scrolls down to the number he was provided along with the offer. After just one ring, someone picks up on the other side, “Hello? It’s Akechi. I was wondering if I could pick up the department on that offer and have someone pick me up from my school? I need to be at the TV station within the hour, would that be possible?... Ah, thank you very much… yes the front entrance is fine, thank you.”

He hangs up and sits down on a bench, waiting the supposed ten minutes that it would take for the car to arrive. He pulls out his phone, switching between his various social media apps in hopes of coming across any interesting updates regarding the so-called Phantom Thieves- of course to no avail.

Since his talk with Amamiya, the only thing he managed to find was something called the Phantom Thief Aficionado website, however it was useless to him. He knew the Thieves personally; how helpful could some fan-site be to him?

He sees a black car drive up and puts his phone away. He runs through the rain and slips into the backseat of the car, “Ah, thank you very much. I apologise for taking up your time,” he says, running a hand through his only slightly damp hair.

The driver shakes his head, “It’s no problem at all, I was patrolling in the area anyway. The TV station, right?”

Goro nods, “Yes,” he says while the man pulls out from the school and into regular traffic, “Patrolling would mean that you are also a police officer, yes?”

“Detective, actually, different department though. Officially, you’re in special investigations, right?”

“Officially being the keyword, yes,” Goro informs him, watching the other cars pass by in the window, “In truth my work is closer to that of a private investigator, but since my main work involves the mental shutdown cases…” he trails off and the other detective understands him completely.

“Yeah, I’ve heard about you in mobile investigations, you’ve worked with a few of my colleagues befo-.”

The driver cuts off suddenly which has Goro’s head swiftly turning from the window to the driver. He appears to be shaking, and before Goro can move to examine what was going on, the car begins to swerve left and right, going faster and faster down the street. Goro’s thrown across the backseat, and he catches the sight of the driver in the rear-view mirror.

The blood drains from his face when he realises what's going on.

The black ooze draining from the drivers mouth and pupil-less eyes is the last thing he sees before the car crashes.

* * *

There’s a loud ringing in his ear when he wakes up again, and he hears some muffled noises around him. He can only slightly make out what those closest to him say, but with little room to move, he can’t look up to see who was talking.

“There’s someone in the back!”

He registers the deep pain coming from his left arm, and he’s not even sure he wants to see why that was.

“What are you waiting for?! Help him out!”

The next thing he feels is the throbbing pain in his head, along with a pain in his chest. Other than that, there was a general pain spread across various parts of his body- bruising of some kind he assumed

“Oh my god, is that the detective from TV?!”

He feels someone’s arms wrap around him and that’s when he once again loses consciousness.

* * *

The next time he wakes up, it’s no longer in the car but in a terribly lit prison cell between mind and matter. Goro sits up on what barely passed for a bed and forces himself to stand up, dragging his feet to the cell doors, “Have I truly died this time? It would explain my sudden reappearance in this room.”

Igor chuckles and shakes his head behind the desk. The twins stay silent, “No, not quite dead yet, observer. I would hope that it would take more than that to kill you. The driver was not so fortunate.”

“It was a mental shutdown, right?” Goro asks but he didn’t need confirmation from Igor, “Was someone trying to kill me?”

“I cannot say. I cannot interfere with your decisions,” Igor informs him, “Your role in this game is merely to observe, remember that.”

Goro folds his arms and sighs, “Yes, you’ve told me that before, but it still doesn’t make any more sense than it did a year ago. Observe who?”

Igor chuckles again, “You’ve heard of the Phantom Thieves, yes? And you have already been working to solve the mystery behind the one you refer to as the Black Mask?” Goro doesn’t reply. He already knows that Igor's caught up. He always was, “The pieces have now all been revealed, and the game can truly begin. It is up to you, observer, to join the right side. Will you choose rehabilitation, or ruin I wonder?”

“I… The Black Mask has killed countless people,” Goro says and recalls one of his latest memories, that of the driver in the rear-view mirror, “He tried to kill me too. Why would I ever pick his side?”

“You will see in due time that the decision may not be as black and white as you may think. Who is to say which truly represents humanity?”

“…how long do I have?” Goro asks. This has already dragged on for a year and nothing had changed since. If all the players were now here, then surely, he had a deadline? Not just that, but how would such a process of choosing work?

“You will know exactly what to do at the appropriate time. Until then, rest, observer. You will need it to face the challenges ahead.”

* * *

When he wakes up a second time, the pain he felt all over his body from earlier seems to have dulled, and instead of being trapped inside a crashed car, he’s lying on a hospital bed. His left hand was wrapped in a cast and upon small movement he feels his chest wrapped in some kind of bandage too.

“You actually awake this time?” He hears a familiar voice coming from his right. Glancing over, he finds Amamiya sitting in a chair he clearly pulled up from elsewhere. He was still looking at his phone, although upon closer look, Goro noticed that he was just flicking through a news app.

“What are you doing here?”

Amamiya grins, putting his phone away, “I can leave if you want me to.”

“That’s… not quite what I meant,” Goro pats around the bed until he finds the remote for the bed and clicks a button, which allows him to sit up, “I was in some sort of accident, yes?”

“You remember?” Amamiya asks, surprised, “The doctor’s said that it’s unlikely you’d remember something traumatic like that so quickly-.”

“Let’s say I’ve experienced far worse situations and leave it at that,” Goro says quickly, dismissing the conversation. He could figure out exactly what had happened later. What he wanted to know were the current circumstances, “You have yet to answer my question.”

Amamiya stands up and drags the chair back to where it originally was- in the corner of the room- before choosing to stand next to the bed, “The hospital called me actually. The paramedics were able to recover your phone's data, but you’ve not got any emergency contacts on there. After they figured out who you were, they looked and couldn’t find anyone to contact about you, so they just called the first number on your phone- which just happens to be me.”

That added up. He had no one that could take care of him in these instances and given that he was emancipated there wasn’t anyone he was required to have as an emergency contact. As to calling Amamiya, it made sense too. His contacts were listed alphabetically after all. There was still one thing that confused him, “But they don’t let just anyone visit, so how are you here?”

Amamiya rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, “Well… I kinda lied and said I was your cousin… your medical record is actually partially redacted even to the nurses so they couldn’t check that I was lying and just let me through. Uh, isn’t that kind of dangerous, actually? Why’s it redacted?”

Goro shakes his head, “My actual medical information isn’t classified, but I’ve had the police department destroy any record of my past that isn’t relevant to my health.”

“You can do that?!”

“If you charm the right people, sure,” Goro admits to his more than shady dealings inside the department. He’d been fully aware of just how corrupt the system was, and as much as he hated it, it did occasionally sway to his advantage. No one need know he's just some unwanted orphan, “But I must congratulate you, what you did was quite intelligent. Perhaps I should be more worried for my safety if my stalker-fans are like this.”

“Oh, he jokes,” Amamiya rolls his eyes and pretends to leave, “You’re clearly well enough to speak for yourself now so-.”

Goro leans over and grabs him by the wrist with his right hand, “Why? Why did you lie? To the nurses I mean”

“Huh?” Amamiya turns around but he doesn’t struggle out of Goro’s grasp. He considers keeping up the banter, but Goro’s tone indicated that he expected a serious answer.

“I’m just some person you served coffee to, why bother yourself?” Goro continues his questioning.

Amamiya just shrugs, “I guess I remembered what you said about not talking to anyone your age. If the hospital called me then I guessed there weren’t even any adults you could rely on either.”

“…”

“I get it,” Amamiya admits and Goro drops his hand, “I… well you’re right, you are pretty much just a stranger, and there’s not much I know about you, but I just… wanted to help you is all.”

“You pitied me,” Goro concludes and looks to the window, scoffing, “Figures.”

Was it really necessary for him to be such a dick to Amamiya now of all times? Goro thought, he was just some guy who wanted to help him out, “I apologise, you’re doing something good, and while I can’t quite fathom why, I do appreciate it.”

To his surprise, Amamiya doesn’t answer with a quip or even a ‘you’re welcome,’ and in fact doesn’t answer at all. He stays silent for a while, until he says the thing Goro least expected to hear from him, “…I want to be your friend.”

“Friend?” Goro raises an eyebrow. Now that baffled him. Who the hell was this guy? “Let me get this straight- some guy you had to serve till late at the café you work at gets into a car accident a week later. You’ve not talked to this person since and you find out he’s got no family or friends to rely on, so you decide to be his friend?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Amamiya asks, completely oblivious to just how weird the entire situation was.

Goro didn’t need friends. They’d distract him from his work, and he didn’t have time for them anyway. Indulging in occasional chit chat with a barista was one thing, actually calling him a friend and keeping in regular contact with him was another, “You shouldn’t waste your time with me.”

“Maybe I want to waste my time,” Amamiya counters and in Goro’s mind he’s just becoming more annoying and more annoying by the minute.

“What do you gain from this anyway?” Goro counters further.

“Who says I gain anything from it?”

“You’re insufferable.”

“I’ve been told that before,” Amamiya grins and it’s amazing that Goro hasn’t already scared him away. Or slap him with his healthy hand, “I’m curious about you and you’ve done nothing so far to prove that you don’t need someone’s company. I’m not saying we meet up or even talk every single day or something but… well how about we just start off by having me come by here to help you out until you’re discharged?”

The circumstances Goro was in finally hit him, “I… I can’t leave today?”

Perhaps he could do with some help. He needs someone to get his case-files for him after all.

“You’re under observation. I’ll let the doctors explain what the damage is but they wanna make sure you’ve not got some serious injury to your head that they haven’t uncovered yet... or something. I don’t really know, I’m not a doctor.”

“Well then it’s pretty useless information isn’t it?” Goro asks him with bite. It’s not particularly aimed at him, but more at the situation.

He doesn’t apologise for it.

“You are really gonna make it hard to like you, huh?” Amamiya asks and sighs, “Well it’s gonna take more than that to get rid of me. But I guess that guy was wrong about you.”

“What guy?” Goro asks like he doesn’t know exactly who Amamiya was talking about.

He shakes his head, “Just some guy. He said you were some pretty boy that’s all charm and looks. Never mentioned you were a dick though.”

Goro chuckles but quickly stops when it hurts his chest, ends up coughing instead. Amamiya moves closer but Goro lifts up his hand, “Don’t worry, I’m alright. I suppose it’s the punishment I deserve for being, in your words, a dick.”

Despite his words earlier, Goro did enjoy Amamiya’s very peculiar company. It was almost like talking to a childhood friends he’d only recently reunited with- conversation came easy and he didn’t hesitate to say exactly what was on his mind. It didn’t quite make sense to Goro. He blamed it on Amamiya’s own type of charm.

* * *

Over the next week Amamiya makes good on his promise and shows up to the hospital every day, secretly smuggling curry from Leblanc into his room, one day even bringing him sushi. What surprises Goro isn’t the kindness that Amamiya was showing him (though there were plenty of questions he had about that too), but rather how he would also stay around for hours at a time, even just to study in silence with him.

According to the doctors he did suffer from a concussion from the accident, as well as multiple fractures in his ribs, heavy bruising on his legs and a broken hand. The driver wasn’t as lucky as he was and had died on impact.

He couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilty about the accident. It wasn't so much that the attack was most likely aimed at him and another man had died in his place. To his own surprise, he felt no guilt, nor was he all that shaken up by watching someone die in front of him. Rather, he felt guilty for getting someone else involved in this case, someone entirely unconnected who was just there to drive him to the TV station. It only drives Goro to work on his investigation more intensely.

There was no doubt the Black Mask was behind it.

Finally, able to leave the hospital under Amamiya’s care, he packs up the bag that Amamiya had packed for him while his new friend stood by the door to his room, “You’re not really going to make me stay with you, are you?” He repeats the teasing that Amamiya brought about whenever Goro was being particularly fussy about his circumstances. That, and he was only allowed to leave early if it was under someone else's care.

Amamiya sighs and rolls his eyes, “As much as I’d like to, the attic is way too cramped for the two of us to stay there for a longer time… unless you’re opposed to cuddling?”

“Yes, I am,” Goro answers quickly and zips up the bag, “So, you lied to the nurses again?”

“Only a little!” Amamiya moves out of his way and the two walks through the hospital, “I’m still gonna check on you as often as I can at your place.”

“You don’t know where I live,” Goro points out but he realises what exactly he was going to do now, “But you’re going to find out now by taking me home. I already know there’s little point in me trying to chase you away, but if you will be checking in then I would appreciate you let me know beforehand.”

“Aw what, no surprise visits?” Amamiya eggs him on but having spent the past week in his company, Goro knows he’s just joking. Despite that, he still wanted to hear confirmation from him.

“Amamiya… I do appreciate what you’re doing, and you’ve no need to concern yourself,” Goro reassures him, “I’ll come by Leblanc as I always do… ah, that is as long as I manage to catch up on all the work I missed.”

Goro feels almost bad for somewhat stretching the truth to his one friend, after all, he spent most of his free time recovering in the hospital writing up his school notes, doing his homework and finishing off case files, and yet, there was one thing he could not do with his phone supposedly smashed to all hell after the accident and him being under constant observation in the hospital.

“Hm... I’ll have to hold you to it, I guess. When are you gonna get a new phone anyway?” Amamiya asks as if he’d read his mind.

Goro sighs, this time his reaction completely genuine, “I’m not quite sure… I can’t really afford a new phone right now. I suppose I could ask if the department could issue me one. I’ll text you as soon as I have a means to.

The two of them leave the hospital, and slowly make their way to the station.

* * *

Goro waits sometime after Amamiya’s left his apartment before sneaking off towards the police station. Without a phone of his own he’s not sure how he could get drawn back into the Metaverse. Would getting a new phone even work if he just downloaded his old software onto it? Or would he never be able to go back to that world ever again, depending on his real-life skills once more to solve not one, but two mysteries?

No. Igor spoke to him after the incident, and the Metaverse was certainly connected in some way or another to the Velvet Room, so there must have been some way for him to get back to that world. The question now was how he’d do it.

For now, he’d have to get by with a phone issued by the department. Given that it was a used phone, he wasn’t sure if the Meta-Nav would reappear on it, and if it did then that raised more questions. Would it disappear once he gave the phone back? It would be too dangerous to just leave it lying around like that.

With all of these thoughts swirling his head, he goes to the police station. Whether or not he’d be able to get to Mementos, it was certainly worth a shot.

As such, half an hour later he’s back at the police station, waiting until one of his superiors comes back with the departmentally issued phone he asks for.

“Aren’t you supposed to be recovering?” He hears Sae-san’s voice coming from behind him. Goro turns around to find her holding a handbag in one hand and setting her other hand on her hip.

“Oh, hello Sae-san,” Goro flashes her a signature smile and even a little wave with his right hand. A little unnatural for him, “I’m not here to work, actually. Since it appears you already know what happened there’s little need for me to explain,” Sae confirms as much with a curt nod, “Right. I’m sure you know how important having a working phone is in this line of work, and since mine was shattered to pieces in the crash, I’ve asked the department to issue me one temporarily.”

Soon enough, his superior comes back with an older model of a smartphone. It’ll do, Goro thinks, “Ah, thank you very much,” he accepts the phone from him then turns back to Sae as soon as his superior goes to take care of other business, “You are here to interrogate a suspect, correct? Could it be for the mental shutdown cases?”

Sae shakes her head and looks away from him, observing how the other police men were milling about the precinct, “No… you’re right in thinking it’s an interrogation. But even now I haven’t found anything for that case.”

Sae could definitely be useful to his own case, but there was no way Goro could tell her about the Metaverse and about the Black Mask. Having been diagnosed with a concussion it would be a miracle if she didn’t send him out of the station on accounts of him hallucinating, “you’re either waiting for a tip off, or a new victim, aren't you?”

“Are you hiding something?”

Goro walks up next to her and leans in, “I’d rather we discuss this elsewhere, Sae-san.”

“Akechi?” It’s clear from her tone that she’s a little confused about his implications.

“There’s a mole here. I’ll come by your place tomorrow night. We can discuss this there.”

Sae shakes her head, “No, my sister will be home-.”

“Then make sure she isn’t,” he says in a very serious tone and walks away from her. Sure, he was being a little harsh, but Sae’s apartment was probably the safest location. If his suspicions are correct, the Black Mask would know about where he hung out and what he was doing at most times.

As he leaves the police station, he pulls out the phone was given to him. He unlocks it and immediately finds the glowing red eye staring back at him.

_Time to get back to work._


	5. Hiding Behind a Mask

Going back into the Metaverse after such an accident is a strange experience for Crow. Despite having his arm in a cast in the real world, his left hand seems completely normal in Mementos, gloved of course, but he feels no bandage around it, let alone the stiff cast. It still hurts, but far from what he felt in the real world. He supposes that since beyond being hospitalised, no news about his specific wounds were spread around the media, resulting in the public believing he was mostly unscathed.

It’s still for the best to take things a little slower today, to favour his right side to his left as strange and unnatural as it would feel for him. He’s so focussed on his mission that he barely notices a dark figure standing around in the subway in the corner of his eye.

He stops himself from jumping when at first he thinks it’s the Black Mask, but the figure doesn’t seem to acknowledge him at all. When he realises who it is, he steps closer to it, “Joker? What are you doing here alone?”

He appeared to be staring at the entrance to the Velvet Room, although on closer inspection it was more like he was in a trance. Did he have access to it as well? Did the others know?

“Joker?”

Joker closes his eyes slowly, and shortly after reopens them, surprise appearing on his face when he notices Crow observing him, “Oh. Hi. Long time no see.”

“Where are the others?” Crow asks, now looking at the corners of the rooms in case he missed them hiding somewhere.

“They’re not here,” Joker says and stares down at his gloves, “Wait… I’m in Mementos?”

“You didn’t realise?” Crow pays more attention to the leader, “That’s quite peculiar.”

“No, I was just…” Joker points at the entrance to the Velvet Room, trailing off. He shakes his head before rubbing the back of it, “Uh, never mind,” he grins and quickly changes subject, “They were busy today. Well, Mona just wanted to spend some time with Panther, and I was already in the neighbourhood, so I figured I could do some work here.”

“Alone? That’s rather risky of you,” Crow walks to the turnstiles, “You never know what hides in Mementos.”

“Sounds like you do,” Joker retorts back and follows him to the turnstiles, “Don’t you come here on your own all the time?”

Crow shakes his head, “Of course not, not as often as you make it out anyway,” he looks out beyond the turnstiles, “But since you are already here, would you like to help me?”

“Mhm,” Joker agrees with a hum and the two walk further into Mementos.

At first, they’re completely silent, the lack of the Mona-bus making their travel a little more cumbersome. They defeat the weaker shadows instantaneously, Crow opting to use his fake gun and only missing twice.

Out of nowhere, Joker starts talking again, “You were wrong.”

“That’s rare for me,” Crow says with a straight face while looking out for the shadows, “what about?”

“Akechi Goro,” Joker looks to him, as if waiting for a reaction but Crow knows better than to give himself away through body language, “He’s not a pretty boy. Well, no, he is actually kinda pretty but he’s a total dick.”

“Sounds like you met him,” Crow says as if he didn’t know that already, “It’s not that surprising if I’m honest. Celebrities often put on some kind of mask in public to be more likeable.”

“You really hate that guy, huh?” Joker asks but Crow doesn’t get the chance to reply to him. To some extent, he’s even happy to spot a Shadow further down one of the tunnels. Talking about himself in the third person was beginning to give Crow a headache.

He points him out to Joker, who, once the Shadow had turned it’s back, runs ahead, jumps on it’s back and pulls off it’s mask. The Shadow dissipates, and three Belphegor’s appear in front of them. Crow had already learned that it would be a problem to try and swipe at them with his lightsabre, and instead he pulls out his ray gun.

“You sure you wanna hold back like this?” Joker asks him once he dodges a melee attack from one of them.

Crow starts to shoot at them all using his right hand. He misses every single short and growls, “Dammit. They’re strong against physical attacks.”

Joker reaches to his face and pulls off his mask, “Succubus!” he shouts, his persona of choice appearing above him and shooting fire towards one of the Belphegor’s. He’s able to down two of them like this but misses the third one. The Belphegor that was still standing lands a mabufula attack on the two. It’s a miracle that neither of them freezes, “I mean what are the chances I’ll run into you in all of Tokyo anyway?”

“More likely than you think,” Crow replies and the other two Belphegor’s recover. They both attack Joker with a bufudyne attack.

With how loud his groan is as Joker kneels on the ground, Crow starts to think that maybe when outmatched, hiding either of his persona’s was a bad idea. He steps in front of Joker and puts a had to his mask, “Fine then. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t look.”

Joker closes his eyes respectfully, and Crow trusts him enough not to open them until his mask was back on, “Take them down, Robin Hood!”

The Megidolaon attack is more than enough to wipe out all of the Shadows, and once he’s done with them, he uses Samarecarm on Joker. His mask reappears on his face soon after and he turns around to help Joker up.

“Robin Hood, huh?” Joker asks with a tired smile, his breathing still a little faster than normal, “Interesting choice.”

“You know that wasn’t a choice,” Crow rolls his eyes, “You’ve never told me what your persona is. I’m assuming that the succubus was just another persona you were able to collect, yes?”

Joker nods, swiping at his knees to get rid of the grime on his trousers, “I awoke to Arsene.”

“Arsene Lupin? The gentleman thief?”

Joker nods again, “If you must know, I awakened to him before we decided to steal Kamoshida’s heart. Wait, actually, before we divulge away from what just happened, uh…” he trails off, uncertain how to ask his question.

Crow reads him like a book and answers before he can ask, “Just over a year if you must know. I suddenly found myself in Mementos when investigating a case… I was cornered by-,” he cuts himself off before he reveals too much, “a Shadow, I don’t actually remember which one now but before it could kill me, I awoke to my persona. To be honest, I don’t fully understand what happened but the next thing I remember is waking up on a train home.”

“Didn’t enjoy the experience?” Joker guesses and he begins to hear chains in the distance, “we can talk later actually. Let’s go down a few more floors, yeah?”

“Mhm.”

* * *

Goro ends up giving his new number to Joker, deciding against giving it to Amamiya. It’s easy enough for him to just add him on some other chatting platform accessible from his laptop, all the while claiming that he wasn’t supposed to use the phone for personal contacts. Which wasn’t that much of a lie, although now that Amamiya was definitely connected to the Metaverse, hanging out with him could count as work.

Not like anyone in the police department ever held him accountable for anything anymore. That, or they just didn’t care so long as he was getting the SIU results.

True to his word, before the crash Amamiya did not text Goro much, once only asking him about Goro’s week and a couple of other times to inform him that he saw him on TV. It was completely different when he thought he was talking to Crow now.

He’d message him daily, and apparently school or working at Leblanc didn’t stop him whatsoever. He didn’t have a filter either, and really Goro began to feel that just as he and Crow acted differently for the sake of keeping up certain appearances, Amamiya and Joker were two different entities.

In some ways, Goro kind of liked it. He would quickly admit that he went out of his way to avoid keeping up relationships- Sae was perhaps a certain type of exception although their relationship was mostly professional. Having Joker message him constantly was certainly refreshing.

During a lull in the conversation, Goro decides to mix things up a bit. He needs to know more about each member of Phantom Thieves in the real world. If he could meet them as Goro Akechi and friend of Amamiya, then they’d be more likely to slip something up in his presence rather than Crows. He’d have to get acquainted with them first, and just talking to Joker wasn’t going to make that happen.

He needs to get close to Amamiya as Goro, not as Crow.

He ends up going through Amamiya’s files until he finds his contact details and sends him a quick message on a popular chatting app once he finds the right profile.

> **Unknown:** Guess who?

As soon as he sends it, he realises everything that’s wrong with the message. The guy was arrested and is now a Phantom Thief, a sudden message from an anonymous source was bound to freak him out, so he quickly types out the next message before Amamiya can reply, or worse, block him.

> **Unknown:** Sorry, I’m trying to not be a dick as you said and that’s apparently too difficult a task for me to do without coming off creepy.
> 
> …
> 
> **Amamiya:** Im proud of u. progress

That’s right, while Joker’s messages were playful, they were at least typed out correctly. Amamiya’s never used proper grammar or spelling. If he hadn’t taken the mask off right in front of him, Goro never would’ve thought the two to be the same person.

> **Akechi:** In any case, I’m currently borrowing a phone from the department and they’d rather I not use it for personal things.
> 
> **Amamiya:** but chat is ok?
> 
> **Akechi:** My texts are recorded. This isn’t.

No, they weren’t, but Amamiya didn’t need to know that small detail. No ever really cared what Goro did so long as it got results.

> **Akechi:** Besides, if the department does discover this then I can say I messaged you from my private laptop.
> 
> **Amamiya:** u reached out 1st. im flattered
> 
> **Akechi:** I didn’t do this for you.
> 
> **Amamiya:** ☹
> 
> **Amamiya:** werent u gonna b less of a dick ?
> 
> **Akechi:** I’m trying
> 
> **Amamiya:** no ur not
> 
> **Akechi:** No I’m not
> 
> **Amamiya:** u break my heart
> 
> **Amamiya:** jk i actually would like it if u didnt change for my sake
> 
> **Akechi:** My, Amamiya, do you actually enjoy have someone degrade you like I do?
> 
> **Amamiya:** im kinky like that

Goro sputters with wide eyes, nearly choking on air alone and sets his phone facing down on the table in front of him, coughing and trying to catch his breath at the same time. Amamiya did have a way of always surprising him with how forward he was didn’t he?

> **Akechi:** Some would find that attractive.
> 
> **Amamiya:** r u some? 😉
> 
> **Akechi:** no
> 
> **Amamiya:** and here i was getting my hopes up
> 
> **Amamiya:** just messing with u.
> 
> **Amamiya:** anyway
> 
> **Amamiya:** hows the hand? And ur other injuries and stuff?
> 
> **Akechi:** Healing, although I’m still trying to get used to doing everything with my right hand.
> 
> **Amamiya:** …everything? 😉
> 
> **Akechi:** Must your mind always be in the gutter?
> 
> **Amamiya:** yes
> 
> **Amamiya:** always.
> 
> **Amamiya:** but you love it
> 
> **Akechi:** So you’re saying you don’t act like this in front of your other friends?
> 
> **Amamiya:** not saying that but you’d b right.
> 
> **Akechi:** Why?
> 
> **Amamiya:** cuz it’s fun. i cant see ur face but i know you got super embarrassed earlier about what I sent u.
> 
> **Akechi:** friends don’t embarrass each other.
> 
> **Amamiya:** aww u called us friends :D
> 
> **Akechi** : …moving on
> 
> **Akechi:** Unfortunately, I will not be able to come by Leblanc any time soon, so we may have to resort to only speaking like this.
> 
> **Amamiya:** boooooo
> 
> **Amamiya:** u suck
> 
> **Akechi:** But as soon as I’m free I will let you know when I’ll be next coming by Leblanc and you can continue to serve me burnt coffee
> 
> **Amamiya:** u take that back! >:(
> 
> **Amamiya:** i didn’t burn your coffee!!!
> 
> **Akechi:** …
> 
> **Akechi:** you did a little
> 
> **Amamiya:** ugh well im learning from the best now so ill have the best coffee you’ve ever drank waiting for you all the way here.
> 
> **Akechi:** I look forward to it.

The conversation ends there, and Goro calls it progress, at the very least he was getting closer to one of the Phantom Thieves in the real world. He has little point of reference for what everyday texting is like, but it couldn’t have been that much different from regular conversation since Amamiya didn’t call him out on anything out of the ordinary.

He begins to settle in for the night, completely exhausted by the Mementos trip. His hospital visit seemed to have drained him from some of the energy he’d gained by traversing there and generally working out in the real world, which was a shame but while he worked with the Thieves and didn’t use his persona much, altogether it shouldn’t cause a problem.

Unless he and Joker get reckless again.

Before he removes his blazer, he recalls a conversation he had earlier that day and gets out of his chair. Sighing on account of having one more job to do, he grabs his phone off of his table and rushes out of his apartment.

Hopefully it’s not too late for a house call.

* * *

Goro gently taps on the door leading to what he hoped was Niijima’s apartment as long as the address the SIU had on record was correct. He’s happy to find Niijima opening the door, although it’s obvious that he may have overdone it a little by coming at such a late hour. She already seems to be in her pyjamas, and although they are covered by her bathrobe, Goro can’t help but blush and look down at his feet, “Uh, my apologies for arriving here so late… but I would still appreciate it if I could discuss this matter with you at this hour.”

Niijima steps aside to let him in. He reaches down to remove his shoes but Niijima stops him, “It’s alright Akechi, just come on in.”

He nods and steps inside, which is when he notices her sister sitting at the dinning table and watching him curiously. He definitely saw her somewhere before, but he can’t place his finger on where.

“Makoto,” Niijima says to her as she closes the door behind the detective, “Would you mind giving us some privacy?”

Niijima’s sister sighs, closing her notebook and getting out of her chair, “Are you sure about that?” She eyes him up and down, though surely she must’ve seen him on TV before and knows who he is, Goro assumes, “It’s not like I’ll tell anyone about what you two are going to be discussing anyway.”

“Makoto, please,” Niijima says sternly, and the other girl leaves with a solemn look, closing her bedroom door behind her.

Niijima leads him to the table and he takes a seat, “Can I offer you something to drink?”

Goro shakes his head and motions to the seat in front of him, “I’d rather keep this as short as possible,” once she takes a seat, he lowers his voice, “I believe there may be a leak inside the police department.”

“What proof do you have?” Niijima inquires, but judging by her lack of surprise, Goro figures she already had her suspicions.

“Nothing promising so far,” Goro admits and pulls out his phone, showing her that it’s dead, “The police made an offer to me a long time ago to have me collected from my school in order not to have me waste my time taking the subway. I declined initially, but I took them up on it the same day that I got into an accident.”

Niijima closes her eyes and sighs, then pulls the laptop at the seat next to her’s in front of her, switching it on, “I… had a suspicion that the accident was aimed at you,” she types in her password and opens up the documents she had collected, “I looked into the officer who was driving you. He didn’t have the cleanest record, but nothing more than your average detective. I couldn’t find anything official that could have lead to his murder.”

“And unofficial?” Goro knows better than anyone just how much shady business went down in the department off the record.

Niijima shakes her head, “My sources told me that he kept out of trouble, but he wasn’t the type to throw someone under the bus. It’s also unlikely that any of his previous arrests had some personal vendetta, making you the most likely target… but then, forgive me for thinking this, that makes me wonder why you weren’t the one who suffered from a mental shutdown.”

Goro knows the answer, he knows that with a persona he couldn’t have a shadow version of himself waiting to be attacked. Loki and Robin Hood were, in some sense, his own shadows, one’s only he could summon. At least, that’s how he best understood it, but he can’t tell Niijima that, “I think the one behind it knows that a mental shutdown doesn’t necessarily result in death. So far the victims have died either from a heart attack or were in the wrong place at the wrong time when the shutdown occurred. They somehow knew I was in a car and given my age I’m unlikely to suffer from cardiac arrest. It was certainly a risky plan but I believe that it was their best bet on eliminating me.”

Niijima agrees with him while she sends him the files she had collected, “And you’ve made this a house call why exactly?”

“I didn’t want anyone overhearing our conversation… or my request.”

Niijima scowls, fully aware of what he’s about to ask of her, “I’m not dropping my investigation, and I expect that you aren’t either.”

Goro puts a hand to his chin and looks away in thought, “no, of course not. It’s far too late for me to back out now. However, I was going to suggest you simply lay low throughout your investigation. I do not mind taking any of the heat if it means I’m the only one in danger.”

Niijima closes her laptop with a loud thud, getting his attention again, “Akechi, you’re seventeen. I’m not going to put a kid like you in danger just for my own protection.”

“I’m already in the spotlight. You might as well take this opportunity. We’re the only ones who even have a chance of catching this person. If an attempt is made on my life again then I can at least die with the knowledge that you’ll catch my killer,” Goro admits, having made amends with his possible death a long time ago.

“I hate this,” Niijima admits, but she understands the situation nevertheless.

“I’m not saying you have to like it,” Goro stands up, the chair scratching on the wooden paneling, “I’m not even your superior so feel free to ignore all of this, but I’m not going to stand down and hide in the shadows. If you value your and your sisters life at all, then I know you’ll take me up on this offer.”

* * *

Exhausted from all of today’s events, Goro drags his feet into his apartment and throws his blazer out into the dark and heads over to the bathroom.

While he’s brushing his teeth, his phone buzzes. Goro spits out the toothpaste into the sink, gargles some water and spits that out as well, only reaching for his phone afterwards.

> **Joker:** Remember the Palaces we told you about?
> 
> **Crow:** You’ve discovered another one?
> 
> **Joker:** Yeah, wanna help?

It’s an intriguing proposition, but ultimately Goro knows the Black Mask isn’t going to go after another gym teacher. As far as Goro can tell, the teacher had no real status or power in the world outside of Shujin Academy and so far, the crimes committed by the Black Mask seemed to be either politically motivated or parts of different businesses, even if the targets themselves had little to do with either of those two. However, Kamoshida’s downfall had no impact on the real world, not really.

> **Crow:** I suppose it depends on who the owner of the Palace is.
> 
> **Joker:** You gotta know Madarame, right?
> 
> **Crow:** The artist? Well, that’s certainly interesting
> 
> **Joker:** You really love gossip huh? First Akechi, now Madarame
> 
> **Crow:** Maybe I do, or maybe it’s you constantly bringing him up that I’m forced to discuss him.
> 
> **Crow:** Are you perhaps infatuated?
> 
> **Joker:** …I mean he is cute.

That wasn’t a no. Goro rolls his eyes, forcing himself to stay in character.

> **Crow:** About your offer… I will have to decline. I do not think the answers to my questions lie within that Palace.
> 
> **Crow:** However, I do have a favour to ask of you.

This was dangerous, because as far as he was concerned, someone like Joker, someone who could summon multiple personas like him could potentially be hiding the dark persona like he was, alongside a costume change. If that were true, then revealing anything about the case could potentially let the Black Mask know he was onto them. On the other hand, having a partner of sorts would definitely help his case load and he wouldn’t be potentially wasting time in someone’s Palace.

> **Joker:** Shoot.

Goro starts typing out a message, and it’s long, explaining his reason for being in the Metaverse in the first place. He decides against it before he can send it and sends something else,

> **Crow:** It’s about what I’m searching for in Mementos. You haven’t heard of someone in a black mask going around the Metaverse, have you?
> 
> **Joker:** You’re the only random stranger that’s popped out outta nowhere so far, so no.
> 
> **Joker:** Why?
> 
> **Crow:** I’d rather not divulge too much but if you see them or hear anything about them then let me know as soon as possible.
> 
> **Crow:** I’m not interested in stealing hearts, and I won’t stop you from doing it, but if you see them then get out of there immediately.
> 
> **Joker:** Sounds serious… you sure you can’t tell me more?
> 
> **Crow:** One day perhaps, but I can’t do that today.
> 
> **Crow:** I wish you all the best of luck


	6. Honesty Doesn't Always Hurt

By the time his next interview rolls around, Goro’s arm still remains in the cast. He’d been postponing it for as long as he could, unwilling to show any signs that he is in fact a real human being who gets into accidents and can get injured. It was partly to avoid even more pity thrown at him on social media, and partly because he did secretly enjoy being considered as someone far superior than what he truly was.

Okay it was mostly the second one but having random, and occasionally disturbing and scarring, gifts with equally terrible notes attached to them appearing on his doorstep with words of encouragement taped to them were starting to get annoying.

He leans back in the chair of his dressing room, sighing deeply to himself. He pulls his work phone out and flicks through the messages, but nothing of interest seems to pop up. He congratulated Joker earlier that week on a successful heist as Crow to keep up appearances and maintain their somewhat forced friendship, but as Goro Akechi he still isn’t convinced.

Changing one’s heart in order to have them confess couldn’t be as consequence free as it seemed to be with Kamoshida and now Madarame. As of today, neither showed any kind of symptoms from the change of heart that would negatively impact their physical health. Unlike the victims of the Black Masked criminal, these two individuals simply seemed to show guilt and regret over their misdeeds which drove them to confess and provide all the evidence needed for them to be convicted. The Thieves just gave a chance to these criminals to repent their actions without any consequences. The situation just seemed too perfect for him.

It's not the only thing that bothers the young detective. Everyone has desires, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they commit crimes in order to satisfy them. Kamoshida and Madarame appeared to be guilty, but what if it was the Phantom Thieves somehow messing with the cognitive world that made them that way in the first place? Or, in the worst scenario, what if his own continued efforts in Mementos actually affected individuals’ actions in the real world too?

From his experience with the Thieves he's sure that if any of his hypotheses are correct, then they aren't doing it on purpose. Skull and Panther barely seemed to have an understanding of what Mementos and the cognitive world was when he last met them. Mona's the one directing them to change hearts, he's certain of that, but currently Goro has trouble figuring out what a cat could gain from having random individuals wrongly convicted, and why use such a tedious method to do it all.

Joker, or Amamiya rather, often played stupid in Goro's presence, but there wasn't a chance he didn't know more than he was letting on. On the occasions that the two hung out, Goro often felt like he wasn't talking to the idiot Amamiya made himself out to be, but someone with many secrets to hide. Not that he could blame him. However, with how open the teen was with his identity that first time they met in Mementos, Goro struggles to figure out what else he was hiding. Through his on research he'd discovered the teen had a criminal record for assault.

Did he have some personal vendetta over being wrongfully charged, and carries it out through these methods? It's a ridiculous thought which Goro dismisses altogether.

No one was _that_ petty. Or delusional.

He hums to himself, considering how he should act in the interview. He knows that the Phantom Thieves have no ill intent, at least not as a group, and yet Goro Akechi shouldn’t know that. Then, would it be acceptable for him to distance Goro Akechi from the Phantom Thieves and publicly denounce them while helping them along in the shadows as Crow?

All of this thinking is getting to his head, and it's looking like his make-up test was going to have to be moved with how late the make-up artist is. He climbs out of his chair carefully, picks up his suitcase and leaves the dressing room. He hears some students arguing in the distance, and with how his head is pounding already from overthinking things, he’s tempted to turn around and walk in the opposite direction even if it meant leaving through the back door of the TV station, however he recognises one of the voices, causing him to stop striding down the corridor.

“There was that pancake place on the way! I wanna go there!”

“You mean Dome Town? Yeah there’s all kinds of crazy rides there.”

“Foods pretty good too. Whaddya think Leader?”

Leader…? Could he perhaps be referring to-

“Sounds good to me,” Goro hears Amamiya say around the corner, which is enough to get his curiosity. Were these some of the students he was supposed to perform in front of tomorrow? Why else would Amamiya be here of all places?

He doubts that his jokes about Amamiya stalking him had any ground but may it's better to be safe than sorry.

He decides to investigate and moves further down the corridor, until he almost _accidentally_ bumps into the group, “Oh, I’m sorry I-, ah, Amamiya, I wasn’t aware you were coming to the studio.”

“You would if you read my texts,” he hears Amamiya mutter but plays ignorant, instead focusing on the confused expression Sakamoto was making.

“What? Who’s this guy?” He points at Goro, acting as if he wasn’t within earshot of him.

“I’m Akechi, an acquaintance of Amamiya-kun’s,” the detective informs him and before Sakamoto can react, Amamiya shakes his head.

“Goro’s my friend.”

“Goro?!” Everyone but the Wildcard shouts, including Goro himself. Since when was he on a first name basis with him anyway? No one used his first name, not even Sae-san.

Amamiya hums with a little nod, and he’s only pressed further by the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

Takamaki goes first, “Since when do you know Akechi-kun?”

Goro interludes before Amamiya can make it more embarrassing for him, “I’ve been frequenting the café he is boarding at since moving to the city myself.”

“I nursed him back to health,” Amamiya adds, always trying to get the last word in. He really is out to make Goro’s life miserable, and yet he isn’t going to slip up so easily in front of the others.

“Hmm, that’s certainly one way to call it,” Goro insinuates, and leaves the rest up to his friends’ imagination. He's certainly going to share some strong words with the Phantom Thief when he finally gets the chance to open those damned messages, “I should be going now. I do hope you have fun eating pancakes.”

“Pancakes?” Sakamoto lifts an eyebrow, looking between Takamaki and Amamiya for an explanation. Their own expressions indicate confusion, “Who said anything about pancakes?”

“Oh?” That’s right, it was Mona who said it, not the others… He needs to be careful in the future to avoid slip ups like that, “I must have misheard, my apologies,” he looks Amamiya directly in the eye now, “I’ll be stopping by Leblanc later tonight. Goodbye,” he waves at them as he leaves, quickening his pace when he’s out of sight of the Phantom Thieves.

He makes it to the train station rather quickly. When he boards the train, he’s promptly offered a seat on account of his arm, which he ends up taking if only that it gave him the opportunity to pull out his phone and send Amamiya a message.

Apparently, he already figured out how to change their names on the chat.

> **CoffeeAddict:** These nicknames are truly charming, Amamiya-kun.
> 
> **CoffeeAddict:** However was it really necessary to be so petty in front of your friends?
> 
> **CoffeeAddict:** It was not my intention to blank you like that.
> 
> …
> 
> **BestBoy:** I’m not working at Leblanc tonight, but I still want to meet you.

The shift in message format has Goro worried. Amamiya seemed so playful back there in the studio, why is he being serious now? Did he pick up on his mistake?

> **CoffeeAddict:** I’m free for the remainder of the day. Name the place and time.
> 
> **BestBoy:** Shibuya station, 7 PM. Just meet me at the entrance.

* * *

True to his word, Goro’s waiting at the station ten minutes before they're supposed to meet. Amamiya arrives shortly after him, missing his bag and more interestingly, Mona. Neither Sakamoto nor Takamaki seemed to be at his side either.

“Good evening,” Goro smiles but Amamiya doesn’t return it, instead pulling out his phone.

He leans against the wall casually, moving his thumb around the screen of the device in his hand, “Are you finally gonna be truthful with me or do I, like always, have to force it out of you?”

“Whatever do you mean by tha-,” Goro begins but he’s quickly cut off when Amamiya opens out the red-eyed app on his phone and whispers one word into it,

“Mementos.”

* * *

One second, the world turns upside down and has Goro wincing from the small headache he gets by travelling to the Metaverse. The next second, he finds himself in the Metaverse, this time still wearing his school uniform, as is Amamiya who stands before him. Goro doesn’t bother denying anything. It’s a moot point, especially since Amamiya seems so insistent on laying all cards on the table, “Was it our meeting at the TV station that tipped you off?”

Amamiya shakes his head, “It confirmed it, yeah, but I’ve had a feeling since the accident. Once you started showing your true colours, I couldn’t help but think you shared a lot of mannerisms with Crow. Then when we met up here, you started favouring your right hand over your left,” he points to the cast arm. Clearly, they weren't deep enough in the cognitive world for it to have an effect on their appearance, “So either you had to be Crow or your aim sucks.”

Goro can’t help but smirk at how surprisingly observant the Phantom Thief was. He passes by him on his way to the stairs, “And here I thought I was the detective. However, if you wanted to call me out, there are far fewer extreme methods than dragging me here out in public. You’re lucky no one was paying attention to us. Did you have a goal in mind?”

“I wanted to see you in action,” Amamiya admits honestly, following him down the staircase that lead further into the winding tunnels of Mementos “You’ve been holding back with us, and if the Black Mask is as dangerous as everyone seems to be saying these days then I could do with knowing just how much I can count on you when the time inevitably comes.”

Goro pauses on a step and turns around to look at his companion, “Everyone? Did any of you see him?”

He shakes his head again, “No but after we stole his treasure, Madarame was basically begging us to keep someone in a Black Mask away from him. Guy might’ve been two-faced, but I doubt his Shadow was faking his terror.”

Goro hums, looking away from the boy above him as he considers just what Black Mask was doing with Madarame in the first place. He was an artist, officially he didn’t appear to have any connections to some business owners or politicians, and he didn’t appear to be the type to endorse any one political party. That just wasn’t what artists did. So then why was the Black Mask interested in that Palace? Could it have been something other than Madarame himself?

“Do you think you were being followed?”

“Huh?” Amamiya continues walking down until he’s just a step above Goro, making him only a little taller than the detective, “Well, I guess we haven’t been super careful with where we enter the Metaverse…” Amamiya rubs the back of his head, “And Ryuji’s been practically shouting about how we’re the Phantom Thieves at our hideout so…”

How were these people even alive?

“Where is this hideout?” Goro asks although he already expects its somewhere far too obvious.

“…the station overpass.”

Goro doesn’t even grant him a dismissive look, instead turning back around to continue stepping down, “You’re all idiots, and you wonder why I’m hesitant to join you.”

“I thought it’s cos you’re opposed to changing hearts?” Amamiya ignores his earlier remark and follows him down, “Wait, ‘hesitant’? Does that mean you’ll join us?”

Once they pass a certain point on the stairs, their outfits change to that of the detective prince and the phantom thief, though neither fully acknowledge it, “That was part of it, however if you are being followed by the one I’m trying to arrest then it would be beneficial for me to follow you into Palaces as well…”

Once at the bottom, Crow turns to Joker once more, “Although I do have one condition.”

“What is it?”

Crow begins to list off his rules, counting each one on his now cast-less left hand, “One, the other Phantom Thieves must never discover my identity. I will step into battle if it is absolutely required, otherwise I will stay on the side-lines, maybe even providing some tips on how to take down your enemies.”

Joker shrugs instead of agreeing to the rule out loud. It's pretty much what Crow had been doing in Mementos anyway.

“Two, concerning the targets, I want to try investigating them first so that I can be certain that they are in fact committing crimes. I will not accept hearsay as evidence.”

It’s a little harder for Joker to accept that one, since so far he’d mostly uncovered the crimes of Kamoshida by hearing it from other people as opposed to experiencing their misdeeds first hand, and Crow knows it, “What else?”

“Three, if we do find the Black Mask and the situation turns for the worse, I need you to promise me that you will do all in your power to get everyone to safety.”

This statement clearly catches Joker off guard, though it hardly surprises Crow, who quickly follows up with an explanation, “No, it is not because I am concerned for your friends, but rather you are the only other people who know of his existence and have the power to stop him. If all of us die, then my work will be for naught.”

“Emotionless as ever huh…” Joker mutters, looking out towards the staircase leading further down into Mementos where the wails of the shadows were coming from, “I accept. It doesn’t really change how we’ve been operating before this all that much anyway. But I still want to see the extent of your power.”

Crow sighs and leads Joker to the abyss of Mementos, “Very well. Follow me.”

* * *

It takes them a while to get to the lowest floors of Mementos that are available to the two of them, which is where Crow begins hunting for Shadows. Most of them are at about the same skill level as Joker, but it's hardly a problem for Crow.

With each new encounter, he takes Shadows down with Robin Hood, switching between his various moves and very much showing his abilities off to Joker. It's nice, to, some extent, have someone watch him massacre his way through the tunnel instead if having to do it alone with no audience to entertain. Joker remains silent in each battle, only occasionally stepping in to heal or cure Crow if he happened to not dodge an attack or a spell in time.

When he’s done showcasing Robin Hood’s abilities, Crow pulls Joker down by the wrist into a safe room. He takes a seat, pulling out a water bottle to quench both his thirst and his health without Joker’s aid, “There… is one other thing you may be interested in knowing.”

Crow’s hesitant and chooses his next words carefully. Revealing his true power would prove disastrous if Joker had the same abilities as him and was the Black Mask himself. Even asking him to showcase his abilities was suspicious enough.

No, Joker couldn’t be the Black Mask. He wasn’t even here when all of this started, Boss’ words proved as much.

“You are able to collect multiple personas as masks, correct?”

Joker nods, standing above him with his hands in his pockets.

“I’m not able to do that. I suppose I haven’t really tried to do it since I kill the Shadows I encounter before I am able to negotiate with them,” Crow begins and stands up himself, “However, that is not the only reason. It is because I don’t see the need to collect weaker personas when the two I have are far superior to any that I find here.”

The mask reappears on Crow’s face, and he reluctantly pulls at it, “It’s time I show you my true form. Come, Loki!” He tears it off in one swoop and dark mist surrounds his feet, slowly rising to cover his whole body as the stripped Persona rises above him.

When the mist clears, he no longer wear’s the pristine outfit of the detective prince, instead showcasing something a little different; black mask with some golden decorations replacing his regular red one, the shape remaining the same. His cape changes too, now resembling a black poncho with a hood that covers his distinct hair. His arms are covered in dark red fabric that fades to black as it extends to his hands. The fabric doesn’t cover his fingers, and around his wrists are what appear to be what remained of some shackles, short chains swinging from them. Furthermore, when he lifts up his arms Joker notices black feathers attached to them. It’s not hard to figure out why exactly he’d given himself the codename Crow now that he could see him in this attire.

He gasps, the toll of releasing Loki after supressing him for so long creeping up on him, and as soon as his breath levels out again, he speaks up, “Loki. He is my other persona, albeit one I refuse to ever use.”

Joker takes a step back and raises a hand to his own mask, but he doesn’t tear it off himself, only keeping it there as a protective measure, “Your mask has changed… it’s black.”

Crow nods, Loki disappearing behind him, “Perhaps now you understand why I couldn’t show you this form earlier. Considering the implications it carries… although if you'd have seen him, you'd know that myself and the Black Mask do not resemble each other, for the most part.”

“Don’t worry,” Joker lowers his hands and puts them back in his pockets, “Your secrets safe with me.”


	7. Necessary Evil

A couple of days after his run in with Ren and a visit to the hospital to have his cast finally removed, Goro finds himself being followed to his cram school by one of the notorious Phantom Thieves. He desperately tries to ignore him, but when Ren begins calling out even his name, it becomes impossible for Goro to pretend like he doesn’t know him, “I didn’t think you would be this intent on making my life miserable.”

Ren puts a hand to his chest, acting insulted, “You wound me once again, I just wanted to keep you company,” he looks him up and down and notices a little difference in his demeanour, “No briefcase today? Weird. Is this your version of a holiday?”

Goro shakes his head and continues walking ahead, “If you must know I’m just going to cram school, not work. Hence, I’ve no need for extra baggage. And if you’re not stalking me then I must wonder what you are actually doing here?”

“Stalking someone else.”

“Someone who coincidentally goes to my cram school?”

Ren shrugs, “Call it fate, I guess. Have you ever talked to your partners sister?”

This baffles Goro briefly while he tries to think of who Ren could be talking about. Goro specifically worked alone, he didn’t need any of the half-brained police officers interfering with his work, unless of course he meant… “You’re talking about the Niijima sisters, yes? Sae-san isn’t my partner, but rather we occasionally help each other with our cases. As for her younger sister, no I haven’t had the pleasure. Not really”

Ren leans in closer to Goro and whispers, “Pretty sure she’s onto us. She caught us talking Phantom Thief business on the rooftop once and she follows me everywhere whenever she’s free.”

Goro rolls his eyes, unsurprised by the groups terrible attempts at concealing their identities. Nevertheless, being involved with them to some extent he feels the nagging and somewhat annoying need to help them out of the situation, despite being tempted to leave Ren and the rest to fend for themselves, “And what exactly do you want me to do about it?”

“Tell her she’s got the wrong idea. Since you're the one the SIU has on the case, she's bound to take your word it over ours.”

“That would seem a little out of the blue.”

Ren leans away as the two stop in front of the gates leading to Goro’s cram school, “You’re clever, I’m sure you can figure something out. Besides you’re a detective, claim you’ve got bullshit detective powers.”

Goro resists wiping his hand across his face as he deals with Ren’s antics far too early in the morning for his liking, “We’re in the real world, Ren, I can hardly invoke that… but I’ll see what I can do. It would be troublesome if she informed her sister of her suspicions as well.”

* * *

Before class can start, Goro strides through corridors in search of Niijima, ignoring any and all attempts to get his attention by other students. He finally finds the girl walking down the corridor and quickens his pace until he’s walking alongside her at her pace, “You’re Sae-san’s sister, yes? May I talk to you for a moment?”

“Is this about the Phantom Thieves, Akechi-kun?” Niijima asks without slowing down and without even sparing him a look.

“You’re more perceptive than you look,” Goro gives her credit where it’s due, “I’ve heard rumours that you’ve been tasked with investigating them by your school's principal. Is this true?”

Niijima gives Akechi a side-eye look to see his expression in search of an indication of mockery before returning to looking forwards, “First the Phantom Thieves and now this. I didn’t think you built your reputation on rumours, Akechi-kun. Why the sudden interest in such a group?”

Playing it cool, Goro shrugs just like he thinks Ren would in this situation. He hates having to admit the other is rubbing off on him so much, “Call it taking an interest out of sheer boredom rather than an occupational requirement.”

“So it’s gossip you’re after?”

“You could say that, yes.”

Niijima sighs, turning down an emptier corridor and stopping right in front of Goro, causing him to nearly walk into her. He manages to stop just before, which results in him standing far too close to her for comfort. However, he refuses to back down or step back, “Then if it’s gossip you’re after, I can indulge you. Shujin’s students are obviously restless after what’s been happening and it’s my job as student council president to make them feel safe and content with their studies. I’m only looking to confirm that there isn’t anyone who’s really out there changing hearts. Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

Goro smirks, “Oh, no, because I’m not lying to myself and everyone around me about what I’m really trying to do and why I’m doing it to feel better about myself.”

Niijima’s eyes go wide, not expecting Goro to be as blunt as he was, and he knows it. He likes playing an innocent angel on TV if only to keep his true identity a surprise to his targets, “You’re not going after the Phantom Thieves because you want to keep the student body happy, you’re doing it because if you uncover the truth, you’ll get an excellent letter of recommendation. I'm not wrong in thinking that, am I?”

“H-how do you-?”

“It’s my job to know,” Goro leans even closer, “And quite frankly, I’m disappointed. I didn’t expect you to be such a pushover.”

He straightens himself out and he knows by the expression Niijima was barely holding back that he’s done exactly what he hoped to do, “If you had any more respect for yourself then you’d at least go searching for them out of your own curiosity. However, in this situation I suggest you give it up entirely. Why get yourself worked up over mere rumours after all?”

He walks past her, now in the direction of their class, and he doesn’t need to look back to know exactly how she’s feeling. He realises that there really wasn’t any need to go that far, but he'd rather be sure that he's gotten to her over lingering doubt.

Goro hopes Niijima wouldn’t be telling her sister about any of this. He could still use her intel.

* * *

> **Robin:** So… I may have fucked up.

As Goro lies on his mattress with his eyes closed a week later, he hears his phone buzzing next to his ear. His attempt at a nap is cut short when he realises there’s no way he’d be able to fall asleep while the curiosity of what the message could be keeps him awake, and so he sits up and reaches for his phone.

He’s a little disappointed that it’s not about the psychotic breakdown case that had occurred a few days ago, but nevertheless he replies.

> **Batman:** Wouldn’t be the first time. How badly did you fuck up this time?
> 
> **Robin:** …remember Niijima Makoto?
> 
> **Robin:** Well we accidentally pulled her into a Palace.
> 
> **Robin:** And she may be one of us now.
> 
> **Robin:** Her persona is pretty cool though.

Goro seriously wishes he could be surprised that Ren managed to mess up this badly after getting even him involved. If things continued like this, he's bound to join the Thieves if only to babysit them.

> **Batman:** You have got to be fucking kidding me.
> 
> **Batman:** Didn’t I ask you to tell me when you’re going into another Palace?
> 
> **Robin:** In my defence, we were super pressed for time and I was on the verge of getting expelled.
> 
> **Robin:** Again.
> 
> **Robin:** And possibly arrested.
> 
> **Robin:** Also again.

Goro rolls his eyes and types out a quick, if a little threatening, message on his way out of his apartment. He doesn’t even bother to put his cardigan on as he leaves.

> **Batman:** I’ll be in Leblanc in fifteen minutes. You better be there too.

* * *

When he enters Leblanc, Ren is already waiting for him in his favourite spot although there’s something completely different about him than usual. The lack of clothes and towel around his hips would be one of them.

He’s lucky Sojiro had closed the café a few hours ago, Goro thinks, “Where’s Mona?” He asks, trying his hardest to ignore the strangeness of the situation.

“Morgana’s chilling with Ann tonight,” Ren explains nonchalantly and pushes the cup of coffee in front of him towards Goro, “Here, I made it with love especially for you.”

“I- wh- ho- Ren what the fuck,” Goro eventually manages to get out, breaking the image of the detective prince completely. He turns around, locks the door of the café then walks upstairs to what he assumed was Ren’s room. The other boy runs after him, barely keeping the towel around his hips and finds the other looking through his things.

“I think you need a warrant for that.”

Goro’s so close to snapping, but instead he finds a shirt and throws it at Ren, “Call it probable cause… just put some clothes on, I don’t have time for your antics.”

“Someone’s in a bad mood,” Ren mumbles, taking his pyjama pants out of the box as well before moving further into the room, “Don’t look, okay?” Ren says in a flirty tone, and Goro final bites.

“You nearly got expelled?! And arrested?! Have you no sense of self-preservation?!” Goro shouts at him, though when he notices Ren’s lingering hands on his towel, he turns around quickly, so Ren doesn’t get any further ideas, “What about the Palace?”

He hears some movement behind him and assumes that Ren’s finally getting changed, “Kaneshiro Junya, I’m sure you of all people have heard of him.”

Goro briefly glances back, finding that at least Ren had some pants on now, “You got yourself involved with one of the most dangerous men in Shibuya? Just when I thought you couldn’t be more of an idiot… must I save you from this mess as well? Actually… how is Niijima Makoto involved in all of this? I never took her for someone to be involved with the mob.”

Once he’s got his shirt on, Ren taps Goro on the shoulder to get him to turn around. He gets comfortable on the chair at his desk while Goro takes the couch, crossing his legs when he sits down, “Long story short, she wanted us to prove ourselves in exchange for not selling us out to the principal and we were supposed to do that by changing the heart of whoever was forcing students into this whole drug smuggling operation. That happened to be Kaneshiro, and when we told her that, she tried going after him herself. Don't think I need to explain the rest. There was a club involved. Oh, and Ryuji almost got run over by a cab.”

Goro hums and puts a hand to his chin, considering the situation. Kaneshiro was certainly elusive. He knew more than anyone the police had no evidence against him that connected him back to any shady dealings or drug smuggling operations, but that wasn’t his department. Gangs and drug smugglers didn’t interest him in particular. However, Kaneshiro could very well have connections with some of the more corrupt politicians, and he certainly ran his own type of business. He’d be exactly the kind of person the Black Mask would be keeping a close eye on…

“I’d like to come along to your next visit. I assume you will be stealing his heart now that you've gotten yourself involved in this mess, correct?”

Ren turns in his chair to face the desk and picks up a couple of tools, “Yeah, he’s obviously a bad guy and he shouldn’t be able to get away with treating students like that. Besides, people will start believing us more if we take down someone as big as Kaneshiro,” Ren begins mumbling about being blackmailed but Goro’s ignoring it, now caught up in his own considerations.

It’s a double-edged sword, Goro realises, with his dismissal of the Phantom Thieves, taking down Kaneshiro would surely make him less popular. On the other hand, popularity is merely a tool he uses to get his way and working alongside the Phantom thieves could lead to a break in his case. With that he could even become more popular than ever, so perhaps the sacrifice may be worth it in the long run.

Goro stands up again and heads for the staircase, “In which case, assume I’m free any day to infiltrate the Palace. Just give me a call next time you go, okay?”

* * *

A few days later, Ren fulfils his promise by sending Goro a text during class asking him to meet with the others at the overpass in Shiubya station.

Since agreeing to the plan, Goro brought a spare hoodie that he never normally wore to school just so he could change into it, along with sunglasses and a hat. He and Ren still kept their agreement of keeping Goro’s identity a secret.

He didn’t need one life interfering with the other after all.

Which is why he’s waiting around Shibuya in that exact outfit, flicking through his news app for anything new about psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns.

“Are you… Crow?”

He looks up and finds a tall man in a Kosei uniform standing in front of him, waiting for him to reply. Goro quickly puts his phone in his pocket, “I haven’t seen you around,” he keeps his voice low as not to attract attention, “I guess Ren has already told you about me.”

The man bows and introduces himself, “My name is Kitagawa Yusuke, although I do not mind if you were to refer to me as Yusuke in this world… over on the other side however, the others refer to me as Fox.”

He already knows that from the small amount of information Ren had sent him regarding the most recent state of the Phantom Thieves, but there's no reason that Crow would have known about the newest members. It was a small surprise that Madarame’s pupil would have a persona of his own when he first learned that during that case Yusuke had awakened to the legendary Goemon, “You already know me as Crow, which I assume means that Ren has told you about my particular circumstances of joining you.”

To his surprise, Yusuke shakes his head, “Ren doesn’t talk much. He provided us with very little information about your particular circumstances, implying that you would explain it all yourself”

Ren was extremely talkative when it came to Goro. Since when did he withhold any kind of information to his other friends?

Speaking of the devil, Goro hears a few other people joining the two of them, and soon the group is complete.

Ren pulls out his phone and clicks on the MetaNav once all of the greetings are out of the way, “It’s showtime.”

* * *

When he’s no longer dizzy from the travel, Crow opens his eyes to a green-tinted sky, although on closer inspection, he realises that it may have something to do with the money falling out of the sky. When it almost flies into his eyes, Crow notices Kaneshiro’s own face on the bill, and swats it away before it can land on his mask.

The next thing he notices is the change in costumes, not just his but his companions as well. Intrigued, he looks Fox up and down, then eyes Niijima’s suit when neither of them is paying attention to him. The outfit’s themselves remind Crow of one important detail, “Ah… I’m not quite sure we’ve met,” he lies to Niijima, “Fox has already given me his codename and his real name but I’m not quite sure what to call you.”

It’s Niijima’s turn to look him up and down, however unlike him, she’s not being subtle about it and ends up giving him a confused look, “I assume the name Crow is ironic, right?”

Crow chuckles sincerely and shakes his head, “I suppose in some way you could interpret it like that. But personally, I thought it would make more sense for me to pick a codename that didn’t reveal what I looked like. It makes sense if we are trying to conceal our identities, no?”

Skull cuts in before Niijima herself can reply, “Alright, alright, enough chit-chat guys, we still have a Palace to get through… but well I guess she needs a name too. Hey Joker,” his calling out their leaders name brings everyone’s attention to Joker, who was in the middle of trying to sneak up on Morgana to pet him from behind, “Uh… what should we call her?”

Joker glances over to Niijima, then back at the cat and his task at hand, “Shoulder pads.”

“For real?!” Skull shouts, “You didn’t even try!”

Niijima sighs and shakes her head, “I think even I could come up with something better…”

Crow looks her over once more, finding the activity of figuring out codenames somewhat fun. Thinking back to some of his interactions and what he’s heard of her, a name comes to mind and he doesn’t realise that he suggests it out loud through mumbling, “Queen could work…”

Panther overhears his muttering and nods furiously, “Yeah! That totally works!”

Fox, Skull and Morgana all seem to agree with a nod, while Joker seems oblivious to them still. He finally catches Morgana and pets him on the head. The monster cat shrieks as a result, “H-hey! S-stop it!”

Queen puts a finger to her mouth and shushes them all, “Guys! We’re _Phantom_ Thieves for a reason, aren’t we? We can’t be this loud if we hope to survive this place!”

Skull nudges Crow in the elbow a couple of times, grinning knowingly, “You totally got it right, she is soooo Queen.”

Crow rolls his eyes and steps ahead of them all, walking over to the doors of the bank, “She is right though. If I’m not mistaken, you are all on a deadline. It would be for the best if we dealt with this matter as soon as possible.”

The Thieves’ demeanour changes from playful to serious when they're reminded of the gravity of the situation. Joker in particular changes his attitude completely, his voicing even changing in tone and growing deeper when he points to the other point of entry, “Let’s go.”

* * *

“Show me your true form!”

Joker runs up behind a security guard Shadow, jumps on it and rips off its mask, causing it to dissolve into dark mist and reappear as three High Pixies. He jumps back and pulls out his knife while Queen, Fox and Panther run to his side, “Crow, now!”

From behind the group, Crow jumps into the fight, pulling out his laser gun, he carefully aims and shoots the Shadows. As soon as they’re down, each of the Phantom Thieves pulls out their own arms and points them at the High Pixies. They all wait for Joker’s call, and as soon as he takes one step back, they all reach for their melee weapons.

Crow jumps back in unison with Joker, putting his gun back in its holster and replacing it with his lightsabre, “Scatter!” He shouts and leads the group in an all-out attack. He jumps between each High Pixie, slashing any time he crosses them while being careful not to hurt his fellow teammates. He stops when they don’t try fighting back anymore, “Learned your lesson?”

The Shadows dissipate before they give him a reply, and the Phantom Thieves put away their weapons. Crow stops himself from flinching when he feels an unexpected hand on his shoulder. In the corner of his eyes, he notices the particular yellow colour, indicative of who the hand belonged to, “Hey, so when are you joining the team full time?”

Crow chuckles and shakes his head, “Oh, that’s quite flattering of you, Skull, but surely Joker has already explained the extent of my circumstances?”

Following their leader, the team enters a safe room for a short break as their conversation continues, “Okay yeah, I know, this is just a way for you to see how we steal hearts and all, but you’re totally enjoying it!”

Confusion briefly flashes across Crow’s face, but he catches himself before Skull or anyone else gets the chance to see it. Joker knew that wasn’t his intention, and yet he very clearly lied for him…

He’s distracted when Panther wraps an arm around his shoulders, “Big time! You pretend like you don’t like it, but you were smiling like crazy after we beat up those High Pixies. Didn’t even realise it, huh?”

Crow looks away when he feels an embarrassed blush creeping up on his cheeks. He wasn't growing attached to these idiots, was he? No, he's using their exploits in the Metaverse to solve his case. Getting closer to the truth is the only reason he's so happy to be fighting these Shadows.

“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re far too clever to act like an idiot now, Crow,” Queen says, taking a seat at the table in the safe room. Morgana jumps on the table and stands next to her.

“Yeah!” The monster-cat agrees with her, “We’re not gonna push you into it, but you’re completely capable without even using your persona. We could definitely use someone like you on the team.”

Fox nods, “Yes, your help has been greatly appreciated thus far.”

He looks in all directions to avoid eye contact with all of them. Why were they being so friendly? He can’t remember being anything but professional with them to their faces and yet they’re now desperate to have him around? He doesn’t understand it at first, until finds himself looking at Joker, who offers him a wink which is enough for him to understand exactly why he lied in the first place.

It’s not to cover up his investigation.

It’s to trick him into joining his team.

Crow curses to himself for considering it as a possibility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may or may not have written part of this back when chapter 3 of Mementos Mission came out and around the same time that we got that trailer with Goro inexplicably (albeit welcome) in the bathhouse and got inspired...
> 
> Anyway, thank you all for the lovely comments, kudos and support I've been receiving for this story! It has made me so happy knowing that you guys are enjoying it!


	8. Powerless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw; blood, abuse, bullying

_Staying as far on the sidewalk as he possibly can, Goro makes sure not to get in anyone’s way as he moves through the small crowd. He’s intent on making it back to his latest foster home before anyone else does. It’s definitely not the worst he’s had so far, but on most weekdays there's rarely enough food to go around between all of them and he needs his strength to study for tomorrows test. He can’t falter now, not when it means he would drop from the top spot of his school. He can’t let starvation be the thing that takes him down of all things._

_He’s walking so fast that he might as well be running, however he keeps his head low to avoid possible eye contact, as not to attract any more attention to his suspicious behaviour than was necessary. Just as he’s about to turn down the street, an arm grabs him and pulls him back. He just about stops himself from cursing and turns around to see who’s stopping him from going any further. It’s a girl from his class, the one that sits in front of him. He noticed before that she usually hung around the more popular kids, most of whom treated him and the other kids from his foster home like garbage, so he braces himself for whatever humiliation she has in store for him._

_It never comes, “Sorry to do that, but I was calling out after you and you didn’t respond at all… you are Akechi-kun, right?”_

_Goro nods slowly, still confused about what the girl could possibly want from him. Not to bring more trouble upon himself, he tries to be as kind to her as he can, “Yes, that’s me. I’m sorry, I was… lost in thought and must’ve not been paying enough attention. Can I help you with something?”_

_The girl drops her hand from his arm and smiles at him, “Actually, yeah I’m hoping you can. I… I’ve been doing really badly in maths, and I need to do well because I’m trying to transfer to a better school. All my other subjects are great, but this is the one thing I can’t wrap my head around. I asked the teacher if she could help me somehow, but she doesn’t have the time… then I remembered that you’re seriously good at, well, everything, so I was wondering if you could help me, maybe?” She asks, her tone very sheepish, as if already expecting him to turn it down._

_The expression Goro makes doesn’t boost her confidence either as he tries to look for an angle here beyond what she's asking of him. Was she really just asking for help with her maths homework? She sits in front of him in class, and he does remember seeing her last test marks from that position. They weren’t terrible, if he recalls correctly, but definitely not enough to get her to a better school on marks alone._

_“Uh, I can pay you for tutoring me, or something… I don’t expect you to do this just for my benefit,” she interrupts his thought process, “Actually, you’re probably busy, I don’t want to impose-.”_

_“How about paying me back with dinner?” He knows any money he gets will probably get stolen anyway, and if he’s going to miss his own chance at a meal at home for this then he might as well take her up on the offer._

_“D-dinner?!” She clearly misinterprets his intentions, and Goro raises his hands up quickly to wave them around defensively, shaking his head._

_“Oh! No! I don’t mean it like that…!” He quickly scrambles for an explanation, “I… you don’t even necessarily have to come with me or anything, but if I am to tutor you after school then I would be missing dinner at my house, and unfortunately they will not wait for me…”_

_“Oh… oh!” The girl quickly understands and laughs at her own mistake, “Yeah, okay, I can do that. Uh, we can even start today if you want, unless you’re still in a rush to-.”_

_Goro shakes his head quickly, “No, I- it’s alright, I’m sure teaching you will also help prepare me for tomorrows test. It is the quickest way to learn and remember something after all.”_

* * *

Less than a week after the Phantom Thieves began a proper infiltration of Kaneshiro's Palace, Goro stands outside one of his classes at cram school, leaning against a wall and pretending to be on his phone. He waits until he spots Niijima walking in, and follows her inside, only to sit down next to her. She doesn’t comment on it, and doesn’t even bother greeting him, so Goro remains silent until the class begins.

For the most part, he pays attention to it and leaves her alone, but half an hour in the teacher is going over something he was confident in already, so he leans to his side, towards Niijima. He opens his mouth to say something but she’s faster than him, and without stopping her pen or looking up from the page in front of her, she says, “If you’re just going insult me further then I’ll save you the effort; I’m no longer interested in the Phantom Thieves.”

“Oh,” He knows it’s not entirely true, but he doesn’t pursue it that line of thought. Goro wasn't supposed to know that she'd joined the Thieves, “And what of the letter of recommendation? Surely your principal won’t be happy that you disobeyed direct orders,” he leans back against his seat, although he can still hear her perfectly well.

Niijima shrugs, “My grades are nearly perfect, I can get into a great college by merit alone. Unlike you, detective.”

Goro rolls his eyes, unfazed by her jab, “I’d argue that, but I didn’t sit here to discuss why I do the detective work that I do. I actually wanted to apologise-.”

“Don’t bother,” Niijima cuts him off, “Akechi, I don’t like you, I don’t think you’re too fond of me either, and to be honest I doubt that'll ever change without a drastic shift in character. I’m not going to deny that you’re a great detective, so I’m not gonna tell my sister about any of our interactions. However, I would appreciate it if you left me alone and stopped bothering me, okay?”

“…alright,” Goro leans back in his chair and turns back to the class, but he can’t concentrate on it at all. When the teacher calls for a break, he stands up and leaves the class on the fake pretence of needing to work on a case. Instead, once he’s outside he texts Ren.

> **Holmes:** You free today?
> 
> **Arsene:** Woah, not even proper grammar, huh?
> 
> **Arsene:** I’m at Leblanc rn.
> 
> **Holmes:** Leblanc won’t do.
> 
> **Holmes:** Meet me by the batting cages.

* * *

_Ikumi-chan, as she had insisted Goro call her, turned out to be a much more interesting companion than Goro initially anticipated. Out of the popular kids, she was probably the kindest one, and by observing them from a distance, he quickly learned that she acted like the mother hen of the group. Even with her occasional struggles with maths, she was a very intelligent and capable girl that Goro found himself respecting greatly._

_His tutoring was supposed to take place twice a week, and after their maths exam, Goro expected the meetings to stop entirely. But they didn’t. Ikumi-chan would invite him over not only for the tutoring, but even just to hang out with her whenever they both had some free time. It was really a surprising turn of events for a kid who’d spent most of his childhood alone and neglected by both the adults and children around him._

_It didn’t go without its own consequences, as Ikumi-chan’s more aggressive friends didn’t appreciate her hanging out with an orphan like him, especially one so clearly rejected by both of his parents. At first, they tried to convince her to stop talking to him, and Goro himself overheard claims that he was probably dangerous or creepy. When she ignored those and tried to defend him, they’d decided that he was the problem and took it to him._

_Getting beaten up by his peers was hardly new to Goro, and he took it without complaint, knowing that no adult would listen to him even if he did say something. He didn’t dare tell Ikumi-chan either, too afraid that she’d realise he wasn’t worth her time. So, he’d learn to hide the bruises, if only it meant he could spend more time with the girl._

_It’s not an ideal situation, he thinks as he walks alongside her in the park, but it’s more than he deserves and he’s grateful for the opportunity if anything._

_“You’re being super quiet, Goro-kun. You okay?” Ikumi-chan snaps him out of his thoughts._

_Goro chuckles awkwardly, pretending like his temporary distraction was just him zoning out. He waves his hand up and down in the air, “Oh, it’s nothing, Ikumi-chan… I apologise, I was just lost in thought.”_

_Ikumi-chan giggles and pulls him by his arm to the nearest bench. He sits down normally while she props up knee up on the seat while keeping her arm over the backing, sitting sideways, facing Goro, “You don’t need to apologise for something as silly as that! Anyway, I brought you here cos I didn’t think anyone from school would show up in the park today,” she and Goro glance around the mostly empty park to confirm that’s the case. The only people Goro can see is an old lady sitting on a bench further away from theirs, feeding the birds that had stayed for the winter breadcrumbs, and a man passing by them while walking his two dogs._

_Ikumi-chan rubs her hands, having forgotten to bring gloves with her for the chilly early February day, and Goro is quick to remove his own and offers them to her. She quickly shakes her head and pushes his hands back to him, “No, I can’t take them. I’m the idiot who didn’t check the forecast, so I’m the one who should suffer the consequences of my mistakes. Besides, I don’t really want to stay out here for too long anyway,” she insists, and with that, Goro puts his leather gloves back on._

_“Why would you not want our classmates to overhear our conversation?” He asks, before making some deductions himself, “Are you going to tell me something about them? Or do you wish for me to give you my opinion on something controversial?”_

_Ikumi-chan tilts her head sideways, “Well, you’re kind of right. You know how valentine’s day is coming up?”_

_How could he forget? His roommate had been planning on giving chocolates to someone he claimed was the love of his life for months now. Goro couldn’t wait for the date to come if only it meant that the most likely rejection he would receive would shut him up about it, “Of course. Why do you ask?”_

_Ikumi-chan look down at the space in between them, feeling too awkward to look Goro in the face, “Well, the girls found out that Masafumi-kun is going to ask me out on that day, and since they’ve told me I haven’t been too sure of whether I want to accept or not.”_

_Masafumi, as Goro recalls, is a guy from the year above theirs, and while he’s definitely not the worst of that group, he does contribute quite considerably to the abuse. Although if this was all true, then it made sense that he’d be even more aggressive towards Goro, the one who kept her away from the group, “How did you feel about him before you found out about this?”_

_Ikumi-chan shrugs, turning around so she’s sitting next to Goro with both of her feet touching the ground, “I mean… we’ve been friends for ages now cos our mums know each other, but he’s always been interested in completely different things from me. When we were way younger, we didn’t get along great. We’re fine now, but I guess we don’t really talk outside of the group… but do you think I should give it a shot?”_

_Goro hums, then finally says what’s on his mind, “Perhaps you shouldn’t be so quick to act on that or feel pressured in any way. You could suggest spending more time with him, and then you’ll know whether going out with him would be a good idea or not.”_

_Ikumi-chan perks up, almost bouncing on her seat and shuffles closer to Goro, grabbing his arm and crushing it with hers, “Yes, obviously that’s what I should do! Ugh, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that option myself…” she closes her eyes and nuzzles her head against his arm, “Thanks.”_

_“For what? I’ve barely done anything,” Goro points out, unfazed by the close contact. Over the course of the past few months he’d gotten used to how touchy she was._

_“For helping me, and for not being as dismissive as the other girls were. They said I should go out with him just because he’s hot.”_

_Was that what the girls thought? He wasn’t all that attractive in Goro’s opinion, “Eh,” he lets her know, “He’s above average certainly, though I would hardly say he’s particularly attractive.”_

_Ikumi-chan opens her eyes and makes sure Goro can see her rolling them, “Maybe he’s just not your type.”_

_“M-my type?” Goro asks, unsure what she’s insinuating by it. He didn’t think his opinion was a personal one, trying to remain objective in all of it. Considering the attractiveness of his peers at school wasn’t that uncommon among people his age, was it?_

_Ikumi-chan lets go of his arm to watch his expression, “Oh… well, I don’t know, I just thought that you, uh, well…”_

_“That I’m gay?” Goro asks, and looks away from her before he voices his own thoughts out loud, “Well… I was speaking objectively, although… I had never really considered that possibility.”_

_It’s an obvious lie, but one he hopes she doesn’t dwell on too much. Living with a foster family was already enough fuel for his classmates to bully him over. Being into guys would turn his life from somewhat bearable to a living nightmare. He quickly tries to move on before he outright gives himself away and scares her off, “Anyway, do you think you’ll ask him before valentine’s day or when he confesses to you?”_

_It seems to take, as she quickly gives her own reply and doesn’t press on the issue, too absorbed in her own problems to really note how the previous insinuation made Goro so uncomfortable. He happily obliges in answering any further issues she has. Beyond the previous uncomfortable situation, there’s one thing he can’t get rid of, and it’s the feeling that someone’s been watching them this whole time._

* * *

Goro isn’t too surprised when he shows up at the batting cages and Ren is nowhere to be found. Ten minutes after they agreed to meet, he considers calling the Phantom Thief but ends up refraining from doing so, instead choosing to go to Leblanc to pull him out of there if necessary.

He ends up almost running into him when he turns the corner, noticing how the other was in casual wear unlike him, and missing the bag that always contained Morgana, “You’re late,” Goro makes sure to point out.

Ren walks past him to the batting cages, “I had to think of a good reason to keep Morgana out of this. Unless you wanted me to bring him along?”

Goro shakes his head and follows the other back to the batting cages, “No, I’d rather he not be involved. How did you know that I’d want to discuss… other matters?”

Ren shrugs, “Hunch. Most of our conversations have nothing to do with you being a regular high school detective and me being a regular high school student anyway.”

The rest of the way is silent, with Ren paying for both of them the first time round once they’re upstairs. Luckily, save for the man behind the counter who seems to be far more invested in watching videos on his phone than Goro’s and Ren’s conversation, there isn’t anyone in sight, and the two are free to talk about anything, though both refrain from speaking too loudly.

Goro’s the one who restarts their conversation, “The younger of the Niijima sisters hates me, all thanks to you,” he swings the bat and hits the ball, though it doesn’t go very far.

On the other side of the net, Ren readies his own bat, “That’s hardly my fault. I asked you to stop her investigation, not to destroy any confidence she had left in herself. I never asked you to go that far,” he swings the bat, and connects with the ball. It ends up hitting the net right next to the target, “Since when did you care about her opinion of you anyway?”

Goro shakes his head, “If it were just the student council president of some school I don’t attend, then I wouldn’t care. She claims that she’s not going to tell Niijima about my behaviour, though I have my doubts and I’d rather not lose such a valuable source of intel.”

“There’s more to it, isn’t there?” Ren guesses correctly. He wouldn’t come to Ren just to bitch and moan about his lack of friends. Goro’s got a little more dignity than that.

“Yes,” Goro swings the bat again, and this time gets in a slightly better hit, though the ball doesn’t go anywhere near the target, it still hits the net at the back. He frowns, but raises his bat up again, “I worry that she may request I have a change of heart if I keep my official investigation of the Phantom Thieves up. Before you ask, no I’m not going to drop it.”

“Why not? You already know your investigation isn’t going to lead you anywhere officially. Won’t that make you look incompetent?” Ren swings again, though it’s a little late and he just about misses the ball.

Goro shakes his head again, “I have no good reason to drop the investigation. Beyond that, the Black Mask knows my identity, and like this I can make it seem like I’m only helping you out to betray you when it is most convenient for me. If I make it look like I’ve moved my investigation onto you, he may drop his guard.”

“Which is why you don’t want anyone finding out your identity. Pretty convoluted plan,” Ren figures out, “But hen what does Makoto have to do with any of this? You don’t think she’s the Black Mask, do you?” Ren swings his bat and manages to hit the target this time. He grins, and Goro pretends to ignore what he assumes is luck.

“It’s a possibility, although some instances of mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns coincide with her required attendance at Shuujin or at the cram school,” Goro says, having already checked everyone’s alibi’s, “There’s still a chance that the mental shutdowns don’t occur when one kills the cognition of an individual, although I’d rather not test that theory out,” he swings his bat and hits the ball, getting it close to the target but still not quite on it, “However, she’s very clever, and I worry about what may show up when she says my name on the MetaNav. Whether or not anything would come up, I’m certain that it would result in her uncovering my identity.”

Ever since he’d learned that she had joined the team, having Niijima work out his identity was a source of anxiety for the detective. She was far more perceptive than any of the other Phantom Thieves so far, save for perhaps Ren, but unlike Ren, he knew he wouldn’t be able to convince her to stay quiet if the time came.

If his name does yield something, then his ‘true self’ would undoubtedly reveal his true intentions, as he expects his own Shadow to be even more boastful than he was. If it doesn’t, Niijima would surely question why a problematic individual such as himself doesn’t have a Shadow.

“So, what do you want me to do about it?” Ren snaps him out of his thoughts, and Goro realises that he missed his last shot entirely while thinking things over.

“Convince her that I’m a better person than I really am,” Goro asks of him, “I can’t have a Shadow if I have no twisted desires, correct? If she thinks that I’m a model student who’s only trying to make the world a better place, then there’d be no reason for her to look into me.”

“It’s not going to be easy, you know,” Ren drops the bat when they’re both done.

“You’re clever. I’m sure you can figure something out."

* * *

_Goro braces himself for the shove that has him hitting the wall behind him. The corridor is completely empty save for the two boys, with school over and most after school activities taking place on a different floor. It wouldn’t have made much of a difference if there even was someone there. Everyone knew about the abuse going around, and no one dared interfere. Why would they when it’s mostly their star students who are doing it?_

_Really, it’s Goro’s fault for not putting two and two together faster. Ikumi-chan had never asked to meet him at school, so why did he think the note telling him to go to the top floor was from her? The writing may have been the same, but he suspected before that something was off with the odd request to have them meet there instead of outside her house like they always did._

_He should’ve known it was just a reason to get him alone, and he braces himself again when he sees the other boy clenching his fist. He takes a punch to the stomach, and barely manages to stay standing upright._

_“I thought we told you to stay away from Ikumi. She’s just hanging out with you 'cause she pities you, but trash like you should know to stay in your lane,” the boy punches him again, and this time Goro falls to the ground._

_Despite knowing better, Goro still provokes him, looking up from the floor with a smug grin, “Maybe she enjoys having a civilised conversation with someone who’s knowledge goes beyond the elementary school level?”_

_The boy doesn’t take that lightly, this time kicking him in the stomach, hard, “You that desperate for me to break your ribs? Seriously, Akechi, back off from her. She’s got Masafumi now, she doesn’t need the likes of you anymore. Not that she needed you to begin with.”_

_He gets kicked again, and this time, he grabs his stomach from the pain. Curling up defensively shifts his field of vision, which is how he notices something out of place on the floor of a classroom whose door is only a couple inches away from being closed. He holds out his arm quickly to stop the other boy from beating him, “Wait, stop!” He shouts, then points to the door, “There’s… something wrong with that classroom.”_

_The boy glares at him, but nevertheless he turns around and looks to the door, “Huh? The hell you talking about? Are you going crazy now?”_

_Slowly, Goro manages to stand up on his own and takes a few steps towards the door, reluctantly reaching to pull it back, “No, I just saw-,” he cuts himself off when he opens the door and reveals that the strange substance he saw on the floor of the classroom earlier was blood._

_Looking up at who the blood belonged to, he finds the corpse of a black-haired girl slumped over the desk and lying on her stomach. Her face is obscured by her hair, but he recognises by the uniform that it’s a girl from their school. When the guy tries to take a step forward, Goro pulls him back, “No, stand back. If you go in without knowing what you’re doing, then you’ll just contaminate the crime scene.”_

_He himself is cautious when stepping inside, avoiding the scattered books from the girl’s backpack that had flown across the room in some kind of fight while nearing the girl._

_“Hey, how come you get to step in, and I don’t?!”_

_“Because this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with the scene of a crime,” he informs the bully, “instead of getting in my way or running away like I’m sure you’re considering, go get help,” he looks back and finds that he hasn’t moved, “Now!” He shouts at the bully, who only does what he’s told when Goro orders him to do so._

_Once he’s standing next to her, Goro carefully moves some of the girl's hair out of the way to check for her pulse. As he expected, he doesn’t find anything and takes a couple of steps back from the girl, part of his glove now covered in her blood. Waiting for the bully to come back, he tries not to tamper too much and just looks around from where he’s standing. There’s a lot of blood, but most of it is around the desk, while there’s papers and notebooks on the floor, they're all throw in one direction of the room. Near the body, he sees a pair of scissors, the ends of which were covered in blood as well._

_Goro guesses that the girl tried to fend off her attacker, but the fight didn’t last too long, the girl getting stabbed shortly after with a pair of scissors to her neck before bleeding out over the desk and floor. When he looks down at the floor, he finds a piece of paper from the girl’s notebook that had probably fallen out in the scuffle._

_It’s maths equations, and one’s that Goro’s all too familiar with._

_Hoping to prove his hunch wrong, he finds another notebook with the name of the owner written out on the front cover. He looks between that, and the body, and he feels bile coming up his throat, threatening to come out. He holds it down, his body shaking, but the appearance of the body, the note from earlier and the notebooks made it all clear._

_His friend Ikumi is the girl who lies dead over the desk, and just as the day he found his own mother’s dead body, he’s powerless to do anything._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly more expositiony chapter, but here it is!  
> Aside from that, thank you for the comments, kudos and general support, I really appreciate it all as I've been having so much fun writing this story.
> 
> Unfortunately with exams coming up, I won't be able to update as often as I usually do, at least not until they're over. 
> 
> Unless I end up procrastinating even more than I already have which is absolutely a possibility.


	9. Mind in the Gutter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... revision is going great

To Goro’s disappointment, the Kanehsiro case doesn’t supply him with any more information than what he already knows. The only reason why he doesn’t consider changing his heart a complete waste of time is having his suspicions confirmed that the Black Mask is indeed using the Metaverse for some kind of financial or political gain with no regard for those who they hurt. He supposes that having a mob boss off the streets is also a good thing, but ever the pessimist, Goro knows better than any of the Thieves that it’s only a matter of time before someone else replaces him.

It’s why he ends up working back at the police station instead of following the Thieves to the Metaverse. He doesn’t expect any leads to come from there any time soon, not without a big name coming up. He pins a photo of Kaneshiro to the corkboard at his desk, only to cross his face out with a red marker with the word ‘thieves’ written over it. It’s only when he looks up from his full chart of 'victims' that he notices Niijima walking over to him, “Hiding out here of all places?”

He knows exactly what she’s insinuating, since the change of heart did result in his popularity going down. He doesn’t regret his actions, though he’s certainly not happy with the outcome, “I’m hardly public enemy number one, Niijima,” he replies back, still looking over the board like he was actually trying to figure out who the thieves really were, “I still have my dedicated fans and individuals who either aren’t convinced that the Thieves exist or remain wary of them.”

“And which group do you belong to?” Niijima asks out of curiosity more than anything, “You said in your last interview that you didn’t think they actually existed and yet you had your own opinion of them ready. Which is it?”

Goro folds his arms, “It’s hard to deny their existence now, isn’t it? Whether they’re doing the right thing or not, they are still vigilantes, held account by no one, which automatically makes them a dangerous group,” he concludes, though he’s not one to talk given his input in changing Kaneshiro’s heart, “Are the Phantom Thieves the reason why you came here?”

Niijima nods once, and turns back around, “I heard that you’ve moved your investigation from the mental shutdowns onto the Phantom Thieves-.”

Goro quickly interrupts her to correct her misconception of his current work, “Then you heard wrong, Sae-san, because the mental shutdown cases are still the main focus of my investigation. I strongly believe that whatever methods the Phantom Thieves are using to change hearts are connected to how the culprit behind the mental shutdowns enacts their crimes, but you already know this,” Goro recalls how he came about the case of the Phantom Thieves in the first place, “You made that connection long before I had even heard of the group.”

Niijima sighs and pulls out her phone to reveal the real reason why she had sought out his help in the first place, “I have good reason for being here now of all times. I can’t lay low when it comes to this case, not anymore. I'm here specifically to give you a heads up. I don’t know how up to date you are on the news… well, I’ll just show you. You can read English, yes?”

She finally finds what she’s looking for and shows it to him. He skims over most of it, but enough to get the message. He passes the phone back to her and returns to his board, “You believe any of this? They’re hacktivists, the majority of who only threaten their victims without acting on their threats to the best of my knowledge. As long as the Phantom Thieves don’t retaliate-,”

“They don’t have to,” Nijima changes tabs and shows him comments made on the Phan-site, “Their fans are doing it for them. However, you shouldn’t be so callous, Akechi-kun. I’ve looked into it myself, and Medjed is far more dangerous than most other groups like them. Which is exactly why I’ve decided to stop hiding before this gets out of control.”

Without more to say, Niijima leaves him alone and he assumes she makes her way back to the courthouse. He’s meant to do an interview today, and undoubtedly this would be the topic of conversation, so he figures some more research into the group may come in handy. Sitting down at his desk, he pulls his laptop out from his briefcase and begins his search.

The first thing he learns is that it’s a completely anonymous group, giving the Phantom Thieves already one severe disadvantage. There's no way they could change the heart of one anonymous hacker, let alone an entire group which is spread across the planet. He also learns that in their relatively short existence, the group has grown considerably and contributed to some of the most famous information leaks in the world.

The more Goro finds out about the group, the more worried he becomes. He’s certain of one thing, which is that it has nothing to do with the mental shutdowns themselves, but it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get involved.

No, he shakes his head, he can’t get involved. He was already growing too attached to the group and he couldn’t risk letting that compromise his integrity. He already hated how he was so deep in with Ren, which undoubtedly already skewed his perception of the Phantom Thieves in light of them being suspects in his own case. He couldn’t let himself get closer to anyone else.

He can’t help them with this, not in the Metaverse. He’d continue using them to get through Mementos, but this particular case has nothing to do with him and he knows it…

But maybe just giving Ren a heads up won’t compromise his integrity as a detective or his case. He's going to find out about it sooner or later, and he knows that even if he doesn’t help them, he’s bound to get curious about how they resolve this problem.

> **Holmes:** To my biggest stalker-fan, I extend an invitation to watch one of my interviews tonight.
> 
> **Holmes:** It’s live, and I’m certain it may be of interest to you.
> 
> **Holmes:** I apologise in advance for any slander in your direction that may occur.

There’s no reply after that, and Goro decides to get back to work before he begins thinking about Medjed too much.

* * *

He’s grateful that the interview is as straightforward as it could be, with the main topic of discussion being Medjed, to no one's surprise, and what it means for the country and for the Phantom Thieves. Playing up his detective persona only resulted in some very strong and highly divided opinions on the internet, which Goro had checked as soon as the interview was over. The Phantom Thieves approval rating was still only in the low twenties, while his own dedicated fans continued defending him while trashing talking the Thieves. He wasn’t sure what to think of it since he himself knows better than anyone who useless the police are in these situations, and he doubts that either he or the Phantom Thieves can do anything about Medjed either.

Rubbing his upper back with his right hand, he takes his house keys out of his pocket with his right when he nears his block, and immediately unbuttons his jacket once inside the building. He only completely removes it when he’s inside his apartment and places it up on the hanger next to his door. It's already late in the evening and his blinds are closed as usual, which is enough for his living room to be surrounded in total darkness, making it all the more horrifying when someone's voice other than his own comes out from it,

“Welcome home.”

Without hesitating for a second, he grabs the closest object within reach, a small cactus plant he has decorating the top of a shelf next to his front door, and he swiftly turns around and hurls it into the darkness.

“Ow! What the hell, Goro?!”

_Goro….?_

_Oh no._

“Ren?” Goro asks since it’s the only person in all of Tokyo who refers to him by his given name. He reaches for his light switch, and when the room is illuminated, he sees the black-haired boy bleeding from his hand where he tried to protect himself from the cactus by swatting at it, “What do you mean, 'what the hell'? I should be the one asking you what the hell you think you’re doing breaking into my apartment?!”

Ren sits down on his couch, clearly already having made himself at home before it's inhabitant had gotten there. Goro couldn’t believe his nerve, “Well, I was hoping to surprise you but maybe breaking into the apartment of someone who’s already had a murder attempt made on him wasn’t the smartest idea..." the realisation clearly dawns on him midway through his sentence, "You know what, this one’s on me.”

Goro rolls his eyes and points to his hand, “Keep your hand on your wound to lessen the blood flow.”

Ren follows his order with a smile, “so you do care.”

“About my landlord kicking me out because some asshole stained the floor boards with his blood, yes” Goro makes his way to his cramped bathroom, and keeps the door open while he looks through the medical supplies in his cabinet under the sink. It's something he tries to store in abundance after a lesson learned from a particularly rough trip to the Metaverse.

“Asshole is a little uncalled for,” he hears Ren mumble in his living room.

Goro finally finds the bandages and the tape and takes them from his cabinet, “Do you have an actual purpose being here or are you just that intent on driving me to commit murder?”

“You wouldn’t really kill me though, would you?” Goro catches Ren smirking as he passes by him to grab some scissors from his kitchen.

“Are you that eager to put the theory to the test?” Goro replies with another question, retrieving the scissors from his kitchen cupboard. Realising that he’s forgotten to grab the disinfectant, he’s tempted to go without just so Ren can learn from his mistakes. He wants to be that much of a dick, but ultimately, he decides that he doesn’t want to be the one responsible for Joker’s terrible aim the next time they’re in Mementos.

Once he’s got everything, he sits down next to the thief, propping his knee up onto the couch, sitting sideways, but before he begins, he removes his gloves and rolls up the sleeves of his school shirt. He grabs Ren’s hand and pulls it towards him. The detective picks up a cotton bud and puts some of the disinfectant on it, before applying it to Ren’s wound. Ren sucks in the air through his nose and hisses when the cold liquid burns on his skin, “You could’ve warned me first!”

“You could’ve not broken into my apartment,” Goro comments without looking up, “Will you finally tell me what you’re doing here?”

“I wanted to hang,” Ren says nonchalantly.

The stupidity behind his actions paired with such a trivial reason leaves Goro stunned, pausing his actions, “Y-...You wanted...t-... to hang...? And you thought breaking into my apartment was the best way to do that?”

Ren throws his free hand into the air, “How was I supposed to know you’d throw a cactus at me?! Who does that?!”

“…I’m not apologising,” Goro says after a short pause and removes the cotton bud, placing it on his coffee table, only to replace it with a gauze. He cuts it into a smaller piece with the scissors, then places it on top of Ren’s wound, “Hold it in place,” he commands as he unwraps the bandage, “I’ve half a mind to kick you out.”

Ren chuckles lightly and leans his head back so it can rest on the couch. He closes his eyes while Goro takes care of him, “But you won’t.”

“I won’t,” Goro confirms as much, then removes Ren’s hand before wrapping the bandage around his hand once, “What are you going to do about Medjed?”

Ren groans, the smile from his face disappearing. Once his hand is free, he covers his eyes with his arm, “Ugh… I’m working on it. I don’t think anyone knows just how boned the Phantom Thieves are when it comes to this… I mean we don’t have any names and even if we did, Medjed’s a whole organisation, it's be impossible to change all of their hearts regardless of time constraint.”

Goro knows all of this, it’s why he’s so conflicted about helping them out in the first place. On the other hand, what good could he be? It’s not like he could use his detective skills to uncover the identity of each Medjed member, and as Ren himself said, they wouldn't even have the time to act, “Perhaps it’s time to outsource your problem?”

“Huh?”

“As far as I know, neither you nor Niijima have computer skills beyond what is expected of someone your age,” Goro begins to elaborate as he tightly wraps Ren’s hand in the bandage, “I don’t take Sakamoto or Takamaki for the hacker types either. Morgana’s skills are impressive for a cat, but I doubt they reach those levels. As for Kitagawa… after we left Kanehshiro’s Palace I watched him struggle with moving the apps around on his phone for a full ten minutes before giving up entirely.”

“Give Yusuke some slack,” Ren argues back, “He was basically confined to be a painting slave for a con artist that plagiarised his students work. If you looked at the shack he had to live in, you’d know that that place hasn’t seen any technology beyond what the 70s had to offer… the 1470s.”

Once the bandage is wrapped around his hand, Goro takes Ren’s arm again and uses his other hand to press down on where it ended, “Hold again. I understand Kitagawa’s situation, yes, but my point is that he’s technologically inept, and unless one of your teammates is hiding a secret skill…”

Ren opens one eye, “You don’t happen to be hiding any other secret skills, do you Goro?”

Goro shakes his head and picks up the tape, “I’m only a little better than Kitagawa in that regard… my circumstances didn’t give me many opportunities to study new technologies. Even I can’t help you.”

“What circumstances?”

Goro looks down at the tape, avoiding Ren’s eye, “I’d rather we discuss your problem with Medjed, not my past if that would be alright with you?”

Ren lifts his head off the couch, opening both of his eyes but he doesn’t press Goro on it any further, “So you’re saying I should find someone who could hack them before they hack us? Aren’t you opposed to having the Phantom Thieves expand?”

“I’m not saying drag someone into the Metaverse and force them into having a persona,” Goro scratches at the end of the tape currently glued down to the rest of it, “But have you really got a choice now?”

“…why don’t we move away from Medjed?” Ren suddenly tries to change topic, and Goro doesn’t hold it against him, given how little answers the conversation wielded. He doesn’t even know why he thought bringing it up in the first place was a good idea.

When he finally gets the tape free, he pulls a bit of it off, only to realise that now both of his hands were free. He bites into the tape and tears a couple of pieces off which he then sticks to the bandage to keep it in place.

“Hot,” Ren teases with a grin, then lifts his hand up and runs his fingers over it, “but thanks… and, uh, yeah sorry for breaking into your apartment. I’m not sure what I was thinking at the time. How about I make you some coffee as a sign of appreciation and me asking for forgiveness? I promise I’ve gotten better.”

Goro turns and leans his back against the couch. This time, after the long day he’s had it’s his turn to lean his head back against the couch and closes his eyes, “I would appreciate a decaf one, thank you.”

* * *

Ren ends up staying far longer than Goro expects, though despite the jokes he makes the longer Ren stays, he doesn’t mind, and hates to admit just how much he likes having someone else in the apartment. It made the apartment feel less like a confined area he just used as shelter and more like somewhere he'd enjoy getting back to after school or work with the thought that someone would be there waiting for him.

He doesn’t know when, but at some point, the two end up watching reruns of old Phoenix Featherman episodes, both with a cup of coffee in hand and sharing a blanket after Ren insisted, he was cold and threw it over Goro’s legs as well.

There are a few times that Goro catches himself dozing off, every time realising just how much closer he’s getting to Ren when his head begins to fall in his direction. There's absolutely no chance that Ren hasn't taken notice of this action in the corner of his eye and in the sudden shifts in movement against his leg, but Ren stays quiet for the hour that Goro intently resists sleep.

His eyes snap open when the other brushes a hand over his cheek, and he doesn’t even realise he’s fallen asleep properly, his head on Ren’s lap. He sits up suddenly, and Ren just quick enough to move his head to lean another injury from Goro, this one on his nose.

But Goro doesn’t care for that, instead his trying his best to keeping his face from going red from embarrassment from being caught in such a compromising position. He can’t ever let the other back into his apartment again, he thinks, “I-I-I apologise, Ren…” he stutters heavily, “this day has drained far more from me than I believed.”

Instead of making fun of him or mocking him for the stutter like Goro expects, Ren shakes his head as he stands up, straightens out his crumpled shirt and pulls out his jeans properly, “I don’t blame you, and hey, wouldn’t want that to be the last time I get to see you in my lap,” Ren winks at him, and it’s exactly what Goro needs to make the embarrassment go away, emitting a groan at the terrible innuendo.

“I’ve noticed you flirt with Shadows to get them to join you,” Goro recalls from their trips, “Is this the tactic you’ve been trying on me as well?”

“After 600 years of me flirting with him, Akechi Goro finally takes the hint. It’s truly desperate times for the police when someone this oblivious is doing their job better than they are,” Ren jokes while Goro picks up the blanket and drapes it over his shoulders.

“Tragic, I’m aware,” he plays along, and he finally realises what the time is by catching a glimpse the clock on the wall behind him, “oh… the last train to Yongen-Jaya is leaving soon. That’s why you woke me up, is it not?” Ren nods, “You didn’t have to…” Goro trails off, and he really doesn’t want to hear himself admit defeat in all of this, he doesn’t want to admit that there are times when being stubborn isn’t worth it but…

“You can stay the, night, if you’d like.”

Ren perks up, putting his phone into his back pocket, “Does this mean I win? Have I finally stolen your heart as well?”

Goro groans, already deeply regretting his decision, “No you jackass, it’s late and I don’t live in a very safe neighbourhood. It would be inconvenient for you to get stabbed now. And yes, fine, I do perhaps somewhat care about your safety. You can gloat about it in the morning.”

He stands up with the blanket wrapped around him, and makes his way to his closet space of a bedroom, “You don’t mind sleeping on the couch, do you?”

“Aww, I can’t sleep in your bed?” Ren pouts, and Goro shakes his head.

“It’s a bit too small for the both of us, I worry that neither of us would get a good night’s rest.”

There’s a silence that hangs in the air while a smile spreads over Ren’s face very slowly. Goro remains oblivious to it, and just when he’s about to ask Ren to stop whatever he’s doing, Ren speaks up, “I never said anything about sharing the bed… I wonder where your mind is at right now, detective?”

It’s true that he made the mistake of assuming it’s what Ren meant, although Ren’s mind was always filthy so Goro doesn’t take Ren pointing out his Freudian slip as personally as he would any other mistake, “Currently my mind is alone in my bed. As I should be,” he points to the dresser he kept in his living room, “There aren’t really many clothes in there but if you find something that fits you besides my school uniform then feel free to sleep in it. Goodnight, Ren,” he closes the door behind him and flops onto the bed.

He’s just barely conscious enough to remove his tie, shirt and trousers, but doesn’t bother with looking for the pyjamas he kept neatly stashed somewhere close to bed. He knows he’s going to regret it in the morning when Ren expectantly breaks yet another boundary by personally waking him up in the morning, but he’s too tired to deal with that.

Morning Goro can deal with those consequences.


	10. My Name is Alibaba

Upon opening his eyes, the very first thing Goro see’s is about as much as he expected the night before, and that is Ren’s face looming over his own. Ren himself is still in Goro’s clothes, with his knees and hands on either side of his body, “Do I want to know how long you’ve been here, or should I just get working on that restraining order already?”

“Someone’s cheerful this morning,” Ren smiles, his nose almost touching Goro’s, “Don’t tell me it’s not making you smile.”

Goro succeeds in keeping an absolutely straight and unamused face just to spite Ren. If he were being honest with himself, the closeness doesn’t truly bother him, and it’s much nicer to be woken up by someone over the screeching of his alarm. Although with how he can feel the warmth of Ren’s breath against his own skin, he realises the prolonged closeness may be a little bit much.

He pulls his hand from under his covers and puts it over Ren’s face, “Get off,” he warns him before pushing against it, though getting Ren out of his personal space doesn’t take too much effort since the other is also eager to comply. Thinking over the previous night and how he’s generally been treating the other, he can’t help but feel like he’s barely been trying to maintain the one friendship he has, and so he tries to explain himself, “Ren? I don’t mind all of… well, whatever it is you do… though please understand that I can’t open up to people as easily as you can.”

“Did I take it too far?” Ren asks, though Goro shakes his head.

“No, it’s not that, actually it’s quite a nice change of pace for someone to treat me as if we were equals over me either being superior or inferior to you,” Goro pauses to inhale deeply as he struggles with finding the right words. While Ren had his own oddities and certainly didn’t behave like the average high schooler, Goro still doesn’t want to drive him away by being so cautious of how he acts around him. Why should Ren stay if all Goro is going to do is reject any invitation of getting closer as friends?

Ren fills out the silence for him with reassurance, “I get it. I can tell it’s hard for you to just open up straight away and pushing people away before you get attached comes a lot easier, but I still want to hang out with you and talk to you. Just ask for it, and I'll stop pushing so much. I’ll give you all the space and time you need,” he reaches behind him for the pyjama’s he found earlier and hands them to the detective, “That being said, I found these and figured you’d want them. I have to go and get shouted at in Leblanc for not telling Sojiro that I slept over at yours… If I live to tell the tale, I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

Goro accepts the pyjamas from him with a smile, “I’ll be sure to be the one on your case.”

* * *

_A month after the incident on the top floor, all of the teachers act like nothing had taken place, along with the majority of the students. Upon finding out from the police about Goro’s airtight alibi for the time of the murder in the form of multiple students seeing him around the lockers, the abuse even stops. Goro thinks it’s out of pity, but he knows it’s not going to last forever, and with how useless the police seem to be in this case, Goro takes matters into his own hands._

_Questioning his peers is a dead end, with most of them outright refusing to speak to him, let alone tell him about their specific whereabouts that day. Looking up the list of activities of that day and registered students for said activity is a little more promising, narrowing down the list of suspects considerably. Each club President is a little more cooperative than the individual students when Goro asks them who was in attendance that day. He figured they wouldn’t want their members to be suspected of murder and possibly ruining the clubs rep._

_It narrowed the list down, but there were still about 50 students unaccounted for, none of whom would answer his questions, and that alone was assuming the murderer was one of the students._

_Finding that to be another dead end in his investigation, Goro considers the motive behind the murder._

_Th case is something that usually has him up until 3 in the morning. It's a better alternative to the nightmares waiting in store for him whenever he did eventually find sleep._

_He’s certain it’s not premeditated, he thinks as he lies in bed. The use of Ikumi’s own scissors as a weapon and how everything was left behind so carelessly was proof enough for Goro._

_The next thing he thinks about the strange note from Ikumi. At the time he thought that someone had forged her writing just to get him alone, but if she was indeed killed on the top floor then the coincidence that he found himself there was too great._

_He stared over her note in bed countless times in the dark before sleeping, streetlight pouring in from the window being the only source of light that even let him read over the note while he wondered what it was she wanted to say, and just how relevant it was to her murder. He can’t help but think how if he’d been there a little earlier, if he hadn’t taken his time leaving his classroom then maybe he would’ve gotten there before the bully, before the murderer, and saved her._

_The bully was also someone who came to Goro’s mind often. His showing up there was particularly strange, but his reaction to seeing Ikumi and even going so far as to explain to the police how he and Goro couldn’t have been involved tipped Goro off that he couldn’t have done it...._

_But he must’ve have been there to see the murderer leaving the classroom._

_Looking across the room to the other bed, Goro finds his roommate snoring and clearly asleep. Goro leaves his bed as quietly as possible, grabs his jeans and jacket, opting to change into them somewhere else._

_He manages to make it down the stairs soundlessly, specifically missing the one step which always creaked, and gets to the front door of the house, which is where he replaces his pyjama pants for jeans, hiding the pants between the coats hanging off of the rack. He retrieves his shoes, only slipping them on, and leaves the house, closing the door with both hands to avoid making too much noise._

_He practically runs to the subway station, although he knows he’s got a long wait till he’s in Shibuya station, and from there he’d still have to take one more train down to the Kasumigaseki district._

_It gives him a little time to think about what it is he would do. The police already barely believed what he had to say. Would anyone listen to what he had to say at all?_

* * *

The situation gets far worse over the coming week, as Goro discovers minutes before bumping into the Phantom Thieves at Shiubya station when he reads over Medjed's newest update. He doesn’t probe too much when Takamaki and Sakamoto overact to the news more than a normal student would, and even after he leaves them he hides behind a pillar and watches them do the incredibly stupid thing of discussing the issue at the very station where they just ran into the very person investigating them.

It infuriates Goro to no end just how reckless they all are and just how obvious it is to anyone paying even a modicum of attention that they’re the famed Phantom Thieve of Hearts. He’s getting too worked up over this, still thinking about it three days later when to the best of his knowledge the Thieves still haven’t figured out how to solve their problem.

Sitting in Leblanc, Goro looks down at the notebook in front of him with pen in hand, although the pages are empty as well. He came to the café for some peace of mind, to go back to figuring out the identity of the Black Mask instead of putting out the fires the Phantom Thieves created, but he keeps getting distracted by the rerun of the interview he did the week before that plays in the background.

“I can switch to something else if it’s bothering you so much,” Sojiro gets him out of his trance, “You’ve been staring down at that empty page ever since it started. You doing okay?”

Goro sighs and closes the notebook, then reaches for the now cold cup of coffee he hadn’t touched over the past half an hour. No wonder Sojiro was so concerned, “It’s quite alright, Boss, I don’t think that’s the issue… I’ve been distracted at work, and was hoping coming here would help, but it seems that no matter where I go, I’m unable to focus. Not with Medjed’s threat looming over us,” he presses the cup to his lips and drinks the cold coffee in one go, then hands the cup to Sojiro.

Sojiro takes it from the detective and begins brewing his refill without any need to be prompted to do so, “Seems like a bunch of garbage to me. Do you honestly believe they’ll do something, or is that just what you say on TV?” He points back at it, where at that very moment he was talking about how neither side was just.

“I believe we should all be cautious on August 22nd,” Goro concludes without really answering his question, and he turns his head when he hears someone entering Leblanc. It would be the right time for Ren to be getting back from whatever activity he was busy with in the afternoon, but it’s not the fluffy haired Shujin student who comes through the door, but rather an older man, roughly Sojiro’s age, in a blue jacket and baseball cap.

His expression appears hostile, and he’s not someone Goro has seen in the café or in Yongen-Jaya, though Goro thinks it’s hardly his place to judge since he’s also someone you’d never expect in a café like this. He turns back around at the same time that Sojiro places the freshly made cup of coffee in front of him, although the expression he has on his face has changed drastically from the nonchalant one he had on when discussing Medjed with the detective.

“What do you want?” Sojiro spits out, tone far more aggressive than anything else Goro has heard from the man, which is when he knows something is up. Sojiro wasn’t the friendliest of café owners, or at least that’s the very first impression he seemed to give off to most newcomers, but in the year that Goro had been coming to the café he’s never heard him being so rude to a potential customer, especially not when there’s another customer in the café, even if he was a regular. Which only leaves Goro to infer that this was personal.

“I heard you opened up a nice café here,” the man looks around, keeping his hands in his pockets, “And yet you still haven’t paid me for Futaba’s child support.”

“Huh?” Sojiro is visibly confused and steps out from behind the bar, “I gave you all of Wakaba’s inheritance and insurance money, and now you’re asking for child support too?!”

The man shrugs, a smirk creeping up on his face, “When I ran the numbers, there was a deficit, and since you’re the legal guardian, you should be the one to pay it. But instead, you’re not letting her go to school and you house a criminal delinquent under your roof. Is this him?” He looks over to the very intrigued Goro.

Before he can say anything, Sojiro holds out his arm in front of Goro before he gets involved, “He’s a customer. As for Futaba, I’m not stopping her from attending school, it’s more complica-.”

“It’s a terrible environment to raise a kid like that in,” The man turns around, but he keeps his head turned to witness Sojiro's reaction, “I suppose then I should be the one to raise her, since I am her uncle. I’m sure that’s how the court would see it.”

“Damn it!” Sojiro shouts, “You’re going to use your own niece as a bargaining chip?!”

The man reaches for the doorknob and opens it. Ren is waiting on the other side, clearly unsure whether he should go in or wait till whatever was happening was over, “I’m not a patient man, Sakura, I expect that you’ll do what’s best for Futaba.”

The man leaves, giving Ren a dirty look on the way out. Goro’s unsure whether Ren even noticed it, but if he did, he’s doing a great job acting like the man hadn’t looked at him like he would a pile of trash, “What was that about?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sojiro goes back behind the bar, and Ren throws a questioning look at Goro, who only mouths ‘later’ at him.

To Goro’s surprise, Ren doesn’t actually stay very long, only going upstairs to change before leaving again. He’s grateful for it since Goro knows how much harder bringing up the subject would be with him around, “It’s rather foolish of that man to threaten you with a detective around.”

Sojiro huffs, his back turns to Goro as he washed the dishes, “Sorry you had to witness that, kid. He’s clearly not heard of you before.”

It’s not the first time he’s heard either name said in the café over the past year, even going so far as looking up both Futaba Sakura and Wakaba Ishiiki in the police files to learn more about them when Sojiro remained silent on the subject. He doesn’t doubt that Sojiro knows he’s already done this, “I wouldn’t want to intrude, but if there is anything I can do to help then you needn’t hesitate to ask. I do have a lot of connections, you know.”

Sojiro shakes his head, “No. This is just family business.”

Goro’s out of ideas on how to lighten the situation, or to convince Sojiro that he can help, which is when his phone buzzes on the table. He picks it up, but the messages only worry him further, bringing him even more problems.

> **Unknown:** Hello, detective Akechi Goro.
> 
> **Unknown:** My name is Alibaba.
> 
> **Unknown:** I need your help.

* * *

_Just as expected, the police hardly want to hear from some kid about his opinions of who had murderer his friend, even with (circumstantial) proof. Despite it all, Goro stays in the police station, intent on making his presence known until someone, anyone, hears him out._

_His hard work finally pays off when a young, silver haired woman takes an interest in him, the only one who seemed to realise how strange it was that a boy his age was waiting around the department so late at night when he’s clearly not in trouble, “The officers tell me you’ve been here for a few hours now. They’re considering calling your parents.”_

_Goro can’t help but snort at the idea. So, she’s not here to help him, just to scare him enough to leave of his own accord, “If they get a hold of either of them, we’ll all be witness to a miracle in this precinct tonight.”_

_The woman takes a seat next to him, “Why do you say that?”_

_“My mother passed away a long time ago,” It’s rare for Goro to be this open about his situation, but he’s so angry that he hardly cares for how the woman perceives him anymore, “And my father’s gone out of his way to make sure I never find out who he is. Call my foster family if you’d like, see if they care about one missing orphan,” he spits out bitterly, thinking it’ll be enough to scare the woman away._

_She doesn’t budge, “If that is the case, then I’m sure your foster family won’t mind if I borrowed you,” to explain herself before Goro thinks she’s being predatory, the woman pulls out a badge which shows her status as a prosecutor, “My name is Niijima Sae, and I work for the prosecutors office at the Special Investigations Unit. I’ve been assigned to this case after the police kept running into dead ends. I listened to what you had to say to them, and while they may think it’s nothing given your age and status, I would like to hear more about what you have to say about this,” she stands up, "Let's take this to the courthouse, shall we?"_

_For all he knew, Niijima could be showing him a fake badge only to deceive him about all of this, but with nothing left to lose, he lets her lead her outside of the building, “Are you quite sure about this? It’s very late in the night and-.”_

_“I called my sister already and told her I’d be home very late working a case,” she informs the young man, “She is the only one I live with so it’s no burden on me to stay here longer.”_

_“Very well,” Goro mutters._

_The rest of the way to the courthouse is quiet, and it’s only when they sit down at a table on the bottom floor and Niijima pulls out her laptop that she asks Goro to give his statement, “If it comes down to it, would you be willing to testify in a court of law?”_

_Goro nods, pulling the note he kept in his pocket the whole ride there, “Yes, I want the one responsible for Ikumi’s murder to face justice, even if being thrown in jail is more than he deserves.”_

_“You’re certain that the culprit is male, then?” Niijima infers, and Goro confirms it._

_“I can do you one better. I’m certain of the identity of the culprit himself; he’s a fellow student at mine and Ikumi’s school, his name is Masafumi, and I have evidence to prove that it’s indeed him.”_

_“It’s interesting that you bring him up,” Niijima comments and peeks around the room. When she’s sure none of the lawyers and workers who had stayed up late working at the courthouse are paying attention to her or Goro, she pulls out a file, “Bringing this up to the public is highly unethical and illegal, but so far you’ve been the only one to bring up his name in all of this. I can trust you to keep this between us, yes?”_

_Goro glances down at the file and extends a shaking hand. However, instead of accepting it, he pushes it back towards her, “I’d rather not get you in trouble, Niijima-san… perhaps instead of giving this to me, you can tell me what you know that I would discover myself as a student of the school without access to police files, and let me fill in the blanks myself?”_

_Niijima releases a breath she doesn’t know she’s holding in, clearly not too content with breaking the rules herself yet. It’s enough to tip Goro off that she’s relatively new here, if her young look didn’t do that already, but she's also eager to quickly prove herself in order to rise through the ranks, taking into account all the unconventional methods available but hesitating when the time comes to dip into those methods, “His full name is Fujiwara Masafumi, the son of a noted politician, although he lives with his mother who divorced his father a long time ago. Masafumi cut all ties with him after the divorce. Beyond that, Masafumi himself doesn’t have a clean record at school but there's nothing there that would normally raise any flags. According to the students at your school, he and Ikumi were close, although the status of their relationship was unclear even to him. He does not take part in after school activities, and according to his closest friend, he was outside of the school, specifically in Shibuya at the time of the murder.”_

_“You’ve interviewed him and his group?” Goro guesses, but Niijima neither confirms nor denies any of it, “Then… this case doesn’t make any sense…” Goro puts a hand to his chin in thought, “His friends and I met up on the top floor soon after the murder, and we were the first to uncover it. A boldfaced lie like that would surely be caught by the police, and yet they hadn’t said anything?”_

_Niijima already knows this, evidently, and opens up the file, this time not showing any of the contents to Goro, “I believe you now understand why I’m willing to take your word over the police. Masafumi was very clearly involved in this case, and yet CCTV footage of Shibuya station and it’s surroundings has mysteriously gone missing, and the handling of the evidence along with the interviews has been so mismanaged that it’s inadmissible in court. Unless we find something that hasn’t been tampered with, or unless Masafumi confesses to the crime himself, then the culprit will never be caught.”_

_“There is one other thing you are not taking into account, Niijima-san; the person behind covering the evidence,” Goro brings up, “Masafumi is merely a high school student, it’s highly unlikely that he’s able to pull this off on his own. More importantly, however, you have also missed off the motive behind this case…”_

_Niijima raises an eyebrow, knowing it’s something that she couldn’t uncover herself. The circumstantial evidence seemed to be there, but what good was it if it wasn’t enough for a conviction? “You’re right, I have thought about it countless times because none of it seems to make sense. Perhaps you can enlighten me?”_

_Once again, Goro reaches into his pocket and shows her the note, “It’s a rather long story, but to put it simply… I believe it may have something to do with this. My hypothesis is that Ikumi not only asked to meet with me that day, but Masafumi as well. It is not somewhere either of them are seen often, so neither have a reason to be there, and while Ikumi was part of the debate club, their meetings never took place on that floor, let alone that day. I’m certain she wanted the three of us to meet there, however I do not understand what the purpose of that meeting was…”_

_Niijima takes the note from him and reads over it, "Unfortunately, I do not think this note will have any meaning for the case itself. Unless we can prove that Masafumi was in fact there at the time, then the case will not come to it's desired conclusion."_

_He clenches his fist subconsciously, once again angry at himself for not showing up earlier, for not realising something was wrong sooner. The lack of evidence and the clear attempt at a cover up only fuels his anger further, knowing now that in the end, his input wouldn’t make any kind of difference._


	11. Requests and Favours

A few days later, Goro ends up doing exactly what he doesn’t want to be doing, which is standing at the overpass in Shibuya station, hoodie and sunglasses on with his phone in his hand, mentally preparing himself to interrogate Futaba Sakura's uncle, or more specifically, his Shadow. He’s looking through his texts, still trying to uncover how it was possible that Alibaba knew where he was and what he knew at the time.

There’s a couple of things he certain of, things he needs to remind himself of as he reads over their conversation.

> **Akechi:** There are much better ways of asking for my help you know.
> 
> **Akechi:** Such as coming down to the police station.
> 
> **Akechi:** I assume if you’re calling me a detective then it has something to do with that?
> 
> **Alibaba:** There’s reasons why I can’t do that.
> 
> **Alibaba:** will you help me or not???
> 
> **Alibaba:** that is your job, isn’t it?

Firstly, he knows Alibaba is around his age. Their speech patterns indicate as much.

The Phantom Thieves, Black Mask, Medjed and now Alibaba… it’s slowly dawning on him just how many fake names he’s had to put to mostly faceless people in his mind, and just how cartoonish they all sounded. Why couldn’t they just use normal names like ‘detective Akechi Goro’?

He can practically feel Loki’s mocking smile in his mind reminding him that he’s the one who chose to go by the name Crow while wearing an actual cape and mask.

> **Akechi:** Call it a hobby, not a profession
> 
> **Alibaba:** You get paid, don’t you?

Barely, he thinks to himself when the first thing that comes to mind is the empty fridge waiting for him at home, or how at the time he was only drinking coffee at Leblanc because his refill was free.

He takes a different approach.

> **Akechi:** Tell me what you want me to do and I might consider it.
> 
> **Alibaba:** I want you to change someone’s heart.

Secondly, Alibaba is smart, but there’s no way they’d know he was one of the Phantom Thieves, or rather, one of their associates. Any and all proof of that was encrypted on his phone, and even then, they’d need to physically get a hold of his phone to access the texts between him and Joker.

> **Akechi:** Ask the Phantom Thieves then. They're the experts in that after all.
> 
> **Alibaba:** They’re busy.
> 
> **Alibaba:** I don’t mean literally change his heart.
> 
> **Alibaba:** It’s a man who’s been harassing the owner of your favourite café.
> 
> **Alibaba:** You met him today.

Thirdly, Alibaba probably had some bugs installed in Leblanc. Why and how is still something Goro has yet to figure out.

Though what catches Goro’s attention only now is Alibaba’s knowledge of the Phantom Thieves. It could just be them knowing that the Phantom Thieves are busy dealing with their Medjed problem, but then phrasing their request as changing someone’s heart is an interesting choice of words.

He can hardly ask them now when Alibaba wasn’t receiving his messages anymore.

> **Alibaba:** He is a bad man, and I don’t want him to harass the café owner. He doesn't deserve to be treated like that.

Fourthly, Alibaba is someone close to Sojiro, who doesn’t want to see him get hurt. It briefly crosses Goro’s mind that the one who could be sending him all these messages was Sakura Futaba herself. He doesn’t delve into it, it’s not relevant right now and he can ask about it later.

Even if it’s not Sakura, Alibaba’s request was unnecessary. Providing him with a name was nice enough and saved him the ten minutes it would take him to get one, but caught in a slump, Goro is more than happy to take the case and help Sojiro and his adoptive daughter out. Goro doesn’t doubt that someone using his niece as a bargaining chip is definitely going to be a terrible guardian.

He closes the messaging app with a sigh, and his thumb hovers over the MetaNav icon. Just when he’s about to press it, he feels a hand on his shoulder, and the intense look of someone looking over it. He doesn’t even need to pull at his hood to see who it is, “Ren, curious as ever I see.”

“I was in the neighbourhood and noticed you in your stealth gear,” Ren points to his phone, “Didn’t know you went to Mementos without us.”

“I have a life outside of you,” Goro says defensively, “Although if you’re free, I could use some help with this.”

Ren shakes his head and takes a step back, removing his hand from Goro’s shoulder, “I’ve got stuff to do, but… if you are going to Mementos anyway, could I ask you to help us with something?”

Goro raises an eyebrow, hardly expecting Ren to ask a favour of him involving Mementos, although he quickly figures out what it might be, “A change of heart? You know I don’t-.”

Ren pulls out his phone and shows him the Phansite, “Please? We’ve got a massive backlog because of Kaneshiro and now Medjed, and some of these sound pretty bad. I’ve looked into all of these personally and they’re all legit. You don’t even have to do all of them, just one or two would help us out…”

Goro doesn’t need to remove his sunglasses to make his dubiousness clear to Ren. Nevertheless, he sighs and opens up his notebook app instead of the MetaNav, then types up all of the names, “I’m not promising anything… although you’re going to owe me quite a lot if I do help you out considering I’m doing this alone.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t think you could handle it,” Ren reassures him and puts his phone away, “But, uh, good luck in there….” He almost leaves, but before that he reaches into his bag and hands him two unrecognisable items, “It’s a Goho-M and a vanish ball. One will take you back to the entrance of Mementos, the other should give you an opening to escape if a battle gets too heated. Don’t be a stubborn ass and use them if you’re losing, okay?”

Goro rolls his eyes, but he accepts the gifts and puts them in his pocket, “I feel like you’re underestimating me, but I suppose I’ll take them if it’ll calm your mind,” he looks back down at his phone and opens up the MetaNav, “Go before you get pulled in as well.”

Ren parts with a smile, and when he’s out of sight, Goro brings the phone closer to his lips and whispers one word.

“Mementos.”

* * *

Putting the names he retrieved from Ren and Alibaba into the MetaNav is the first thing Crow does once he’s in the twisted subway while he adjust his eyes to the darkness and his nose to the stench that drafted throughout the place. The map shows him all of the targets, none of them going beyond the path of Kaitul save for one located on the path of Adyeshach. It seemed odd at first for the others to be lumped together while one was much further down. If Crow remembered correctly, whenever he was with the Thieves, he was unable to go beyond the path of Kaitul, the rest not even showing up on his map, and yet now that he was alone, everything was there, including the strange room at the end with the big closed doors.

Perhaps it had something to do with his popularity, or more specifically, how famous he was. As the Phantom Thieves became more known throughout not just the city, but the country itself, they gained access to more floors, all the while Crow never lost the potential of going deeper on his own even with his approval rating dropping, but he was still as famous as ever. Which then left Crow with one question- was the Black Mask someone famous, or was the mere talk of psychotic breakdowns enough for them to get to the lower floors?

He puts his phone away and instead replaces it with his notebook, where he writes down his thoughts before he forgets them. Once he’s done with that, he moves past the turnstiles, ignoring the twins looming around the glowing blue door, and heads down to the nearest target, a Shadow on the first floor of the path of Chemdah.

Without knowing who he would find where, Crow ends up deciding to deal with all of the Shadows in one go. Having Joker owe him a huge favour was certainly tempting enough to keep him going, and all the Shadows that get in his way are far bellow his level for him to consider them a serious threat, shown by him being able to take them all down by merely slashing his sabre at them.

The first Shadow, one Odo Nozomi, ends up becoming far more of a hassle than Crow first expected, with the Setanta that the Shadow had turn into being either immune or resistant to his bless, curse, gun and physical attacks, though all the while the Shadow itself was either too slow or too weak to deal any significant damage to him.

He considers using his almighty attack, but he worries it’ll kill the shadow rather than just beat it into submission, which has him throwing out attacks with his lightsabre. The Shadow stays up, barely taking any damage from him, and Crow knows the battle is going to take up most of his time if he continues like this. There is one option, but he hates to use it.

He knows Loki has a fire ability, one that may be just what he needs in this situation, but he’s still unsure just how much he can hold back if he brings him out with no one around. Loki was one powerful persona, Crow thinks as the Shadow in front of him charges up and awaits his attack, but it’s a persona that’s incredibly difficult for him to control.

He makes up his mind when pushing back against the shadows physical attack, wanting the battle to finally end so he could move on and do what he’s here to do. With a trembling hand, he pulls away his mask and calls forward the trickster god, “Come, Loki!”

The striped persona immediately appears above him, looking bored as usual while Crow’s princely white outfit burns away in a blue flame while being replaced with his darker costume. He feels a bust of energy along with it course through his veins, though judging by how Loki was looking down on him, he wasn’t sure how long he could maintain it for, “Take him down!” Crow tries to sound as commanding as possible while pointing at the Setanta.

With no words and a bored shrug, Loki’s blade rises in the air, and flames come out from the tip of it when he swings it back down, hitting the Shadow right in the chest. The Shadow is thrown back, and with a couple more hits like this from Loki, it loses it's strength and returns to it's prior form. To Crow’s horror, however, Loki isn't content to leave things like this, and again, the persona raises his blade.

“Loki, no! Stop!” Crow shouts, but the trickster looks down at him with the sword raised, and even without a face Crow knows that he’s smirking at him deviously.

Loki swings the blade down once more, but before it can send the attack out, chains seem to wrap around the sword, which throws Loki off and sends the attack in a different direction. Just when Loki tries to turn around to see what's stopping him, another set of chains wrap around him as well. The sensation gets to Crow, though he’s certain that if he was more in sync with his own persona or had more control over it, he too would feel like he’s wrapped in chains.

He’d be grateful, but he already knows what it is that stopped his persona in the first place, and he doesn’t have to look far to find the Black Mask lurking in the shadows while their own persona, one which has a dark blue, almost black cloak that’s covered in black feathers around the neck and chest concealing it's body, a hood over it’s head that obscures it’s face and long, wavy blond hair that tumbles out from it. The Shadow holds onto the chains with a hand covered in black armour that protrudes from the cloak.

“I’m impressed. I never expected you to try and use Loki’s powers again, and yet here you are, _almost_ holding him back,” the Black Mask mocks in the distorted voice that haunts Crow's nightmares to this day, “Call him back unless you want him to kill that man,” the Black Mask pauses, then quickly adds, "And no, I'm not going to kill you once Loki is gone.”

Crow’s left to believe that there’s some honesty in that, as it would be far easier for the Black Mask to have killed him when he had Robin Hood out and was paying attention to his own battle. He doesn’t doubt that they’ve been watching him for a while. Crow pulls off his mask again, this time summoning the far more stable Robin Hood, forcing Loki back into his mask. He keeps the same outfit, while the chains fall to the ground.

Black Mask recalls their persona as well, and once their mask is back on, they come out from the shadows, pointing at Odo, “Now then, I believe you have your own matters to attend to. We’ll talk once you’re done.”

Talk? What the hell was Black Mask on about? Since when were they not out for his blood? And what were those chains? Up till now, Crow had always assumed that the Black Mask merely drove the Shadows insane, but was that not their power not the same as Loki's?

Crow glances back at the man who he was supposed to deal with in the first place, and the only thing that pushes him to go through with it is the thought that his last action might do some good in this world, even if Ren and the Black Mask would be the only ones to know of it.

* * *

_The only thing Goro knows what to do is scream into the night when he leaves the courthouse, now aware of just how useless he was to the entire case. All the time he put in, all the enemies he managed to make and all the trouble he got into was all for nothing, and he wouldn’t even have cared for any of that if it meant someone would face justice. Instead, he’s left clenching his fist as he walks back to the train station, barely keeping in mind the consequences of what would happen if some random kid was found screaming and kicking around the Kasumigaseki district at 3 in the morning._

_He miraculously manages to keep all of the anger in, walking down the stairs of the station, and remembers to check his phone in case someone had noticed his absence from the foster home and bothered to ask about it. There’s nothing new, not in terms of messages or missed calls, but there is a creepy red app with a black eye over it that he never remembers installing, and he feels like it’s staring back at him. It’s malware, definitely, and he tries to delete it, though as his thumb hovers over the icon, he can’t help himself get a little curious about it._

_He shouldn’t think like that, there’s no reason or logic behind his actions and he should definitely uninstall the app, but instead he clicks on it._

_As the app boots up, there’s no worrying messages that pop up, nothing that stands out to him, and all it asks for is a name, his presumably, so he types it out into the space provided._

_“Candidate found.”_

_He’s certain it’s malware now, with the ominous message just sounding like the works of an internet troll, but when he tries to leave the app it doesn’t let him. Great, now he’ll have to explain how he was stupid enough to fall for something like that to his foster parents. It would be months before he’d get a fixed phone back._

_“Beginning navigation.”_

_Goro considers just throwing it in the bin, claiming he was mugged since it seemed far more believable and much less stupid than what he had actually done, but his head begins to spin, and he starts to feel sick as the subway station around him suddenly changes from it’s bleak off-white walls to ones tinted red. In fact, when he looks up the colour change isn’t the only thing that tips him off about it, but the design of it too. He’s seen this place before, not exactly it, but it reminds him a little of Shibuya station, or rather, a distorted version of Shibuya station._

_He looks behind him, where the stairs seem to lead out of this nightmare. He wants to run out from it, and just as he turns on his heels, the only other living thing around floats in front of him- a blue butterfly with an ability to speak in his mind._

_‘Please, do not run away, Akechi Goro. It’s taken us far longer than we anticipated to get you here.’_

_Goro rubs his eyes with the back of his palms, desperate for this nightmare to end, but we he reopens his eyes, Shibuya station is still red and covered in black vines and the blue butterfly is still hovering just a bit above him._

_‘This is all confusing, I know, but in the depths of Mementos, in the vast world of the Metaverse are all of the answers you seek.’_

_Goro looks back over to the turnstiles, now remembering that Niijima had offered him some water earlier, which now that he thought about it was probably laced with some heavy drugs. There's no way he was in this messed up version of Shibuya. In reality he’s probably ties up and gagged in the back of that fake prosecutors’ car, or whoever she might've really worked for._

_It’s really not Goro’s brightest day, but so long as he’s in this lucid LSD dream, he might as well do what the butterfly says. So, he does as much, and goes through the turnstiles, then down the moving stairs._

_Just as lucid dreams would have it, it turns out he isn’t alone in this nightmare, and at the bottom of the stairs is another person, this one wearing some kind of strange prison outfit, black cape helmet and black mask, covered from head to toe so that Goro couldn’t tell anything about them. The masked individual doesn’t seem to notice at first, too absorbed in their phone, but it’s too late for Goro to turn around and run up the stairs, so he keeps going, hoping that the masked individual would just ignore his existence._

_It’s his lucid dream, isn’t it?_

_When he reaches the bottom of the stairs, and the person notices he’s there, they grab onto his neck and shove him against a wall. It’s not enough pressure to choke him, but it’s enough to keep him in place, “You’re no Shadow,” the Black Mask doesn’t ask, but Goro shakes his head, “Who the hell are you?”_

_“N-no one…” Goro manages to choke out while grabbing onto the Black Masks arm with both hands, his legs flailing underneath him. However, much he struggles against it, the other doesn’t budge at all._

_“Name?”_

_“A-… A-Akechi.”_

_The Black Mask chuckles and lets Goro go, causing him to drop to his knees. The boy rubs at his neck, fairly certain that it’ll be bruised when he looks in the mirror the next morning, but he stays in his spot, something telling him that even if he tries to run away it won’t be enough._

_“A-ke-chi,” the Black Mask repeats, sounding out each syllable separately as they begin to pace around, the sound of their shoes clicking against the tiles of the station being the only other sound around them, “A Shadow appeared on my MetaNav without my input, one that looks quite similar to you, and when I went to see it he gave me the same name, far more angrily than you did just now. I assume that’s your doing… Hm…” The Black Mask begins humming, which is when Goro finally gets to his feet. The Black Mask stops pacing and looks at him, even with the mask Goro knows they’re looking into his eyes when they ask their question,_

_“How would you like to see the darkest parts of your very soul, Akechi?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys- quick update:
> 
> If you haven't noticed, or even if you have, I've changed this and decided to make it all one story. It doesn't really change much, only that in far future chapters the POV will occasionally change, but for now this is still all Akechi's perspective. I haven't changed the plot, the identity of the Black Mask or any other possible twists and turns I have planned, I'm still going to write the same thing as I was going to before I made the change.
> 
> Anyway, thank you all for the comments and kudos! I really enjoy engaging with you guys as much as possible, and that being said, I of course can't confirm or deny any theories you may all have as to not spoil the plot, but know that I very much appreciate you guys theorising on this and love to see you getting excited for future chapters!


	12. All I Can Do Is Cry On My Own

“If you’re here to kill me, then just get it over and done with,” Crow announces as soon as he comes back from dealing with the Shadow. Black Mask is looking far more casual than Crow has ever seen them, leaning against the wall with their arms crossed, “and if you’re not, then please get out of my way so I may continue my work.”

Black Mask chuckles darkly, “I said I came here to talk. I’ve no desire to kill you. Not right now anyway.”

Crow huffs and walks past the other persona user, only to find that they were following him, “Then what was the precise intention behind the mental shutdown you caused the driver? What, did you think it was something I’d find amusing?”

“It was a hit someone ordered on you, yes,” Black Mask confirms his earlier suspicions, “But since then I have managed to convince them that having you die by mental shutdown or otherwise would bring too much heat, given your current status.”

Crow is almost certain all of that was a lie. Why bother trying to keep the one person who knew about the Black Mask alive? Of course, even if he uncovers who they are it would be almost impossible to tie the crimes to them, Crow assumes, especially if they're working as a hitman rather than pursuing their own goals, “That’s a lie if I've ever heard one. I’m only getting in the way of you reaching your goals, and I’m the only one who knows about your existence. I’d be quickly forgotten by the public no matter how tragic my death may be.”

Black Mask chuckles again, “Do you truly believe you hinder me so much? We both know who would win in a battle if it came down to it, which is why I’m happy to let you and that little group of yours search Palaces and Mementos to your leisure. It hardly makes a difference to my endgame.”

They reach the end of the floor, and Crow looks down at his phone to check for the location of his next target. He’s hesitant to have Black Mask follow him there, but he made a promise to both Ren and Alibaba that he’d see this through. He also made a promise to Ren that he’d make it out alive, something he’s reminded of whenever he feels to items Ren gave him move around in his pocket.

“I’m here to talk,” Black Mask repeats, but quickly changes his words, “Or, since you don’t seem to open to discussion, how about you hear what I have to say while I let you deal with whatever it is you came here to do?”

The next target is one Shoichi Oyamada, found on the next floor, which is where Crow goes to next. In the end, none of his targets were the kind of people Black Mask would go after, and the more mental shutdowns they instigated, the more heat they brought upon themselves, “What makes you think I’ll listen?”

“Oh please,” Crow feels the roll of their eyes underneath the visor in their tone of voice, “I’m the culprit you’re looking for, as the leading detective it would be foolish of you not to listen to what I have to say. Perhaps I might slip up and give you a clue.”

Crow takes a step forwards and walks down the moving stairs, Black Mask closely following behind, “You’re not so careless, but if you’re so insistent, then I’ll indulge you… I suppose in some twisted sense I owe you the chance to explain yourself for helping me subdue Loki.”

“I’m glad we came to an agreement.”

Throughout their walk across the area, the Black Mask doesn’t say anything, just watching from behind as Crow deals with each Shadow that comes their way using Robin Hood. It’s only when he’s dealing with the Shadow of Shoichi Oyamada that Black Mask speaks up. Given that none of Robin Hood’s magic attacks were working, Crow expects them to taunt him.

Black Mask doesn’t, and Crow tries to listen in while fighting the Thoth off with his sword, “In truth, I, personally, never wished you any harm, detective. You were simply getting too close and my boss noticed and ordered that I kill you. They never specified how, but the longer I was taking the more impatient they became, and of course I couldn’t disobey them for too long. I staged the accident in hopes that you’d survive, and the investigation would be delayed.”

“Your boss sounds delightful,” Crow throws in sarcastically, followed up with a surprised gasp when the Thoth shocks him with a Mazio attack. It’s barely enough to actually do any damage, but the feeling still isn’t a welcome one, “Have you ever considered leaving them? Perhaps taking up a profession that doesn’t include murder?”

The joke doesn’t make the Black Mask laugh like Crow had somewhat anticipated. Not everyone found dark humour as funny as he or Ren did apparently, “I don’t do this for money.”

“Then for what?”

“I’m hardly going to give that away,” Black Mask berates Crow for underestimating him, then continues with his story, “For certain… reasons, it’s far more preferable to me that you stay alive. Though don't get me wrong, if it comes down to it, I won't hesitate to kill you either.”

Crow swings his sword at the Thoth and manages to land a critical hit on him, “You certainly didn’t make it seem like that a year ago.”

“A year ago, you were some unknown orphan who nearly got himself carelessly killed through your own mistakes,” Black Mask points out, “The circumstances since have changed, both yours and mine.”

With a final attack, Crow manages to defeat the Shadow who returns to a human form. He begs Crow not to kill him or harm him any further, so he convinces the shadow to change his ways. It’s a little difficult not to make his argument come off as extremely generic and impersonal, but without doing any research on these people and only trusting that Ren was telling the truth that these people deserved it, how was he supposed to know how these people had wronged society?

As soon as the conversation is over, the Shadow disappears and drops a purple card on the ground. Crow picks it up though he has little understanding of it. He pockets it and decides to ask Mona about it the next time they’re travelling through the Metaverse together.

“Asking you why you’ve changed your mind is probably pointless,” Crow thinks aloud, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his clothed arm, “but you wouldn’t waste your time telling me all of this without a set goal in mind. So, get to it.”

“Straight to the point then,” Black Mask pushes off of the wall they were leaning against, “I only do what I have to in order to right my wrongs, however over the past year I’ve not been able to make any headway on that… I’ve decided that you are the best person who could help me in this predicament.”

Crow stops briefly, and he barely stops himself from laughing at the thought. Even if it may be a task that Crow would be happy to help with, it’s not going to be at the cost of partnering up with a serial killer. He doubts the task would even be so innocent, “Why on earth would I help you out? Don’t think I feel indebted to you for killing me as your boss has ordered you to.”

The Black Mask knows this of course, they wouldn’t even ask for this if they didn’t have a way for persuading the detective, “You could help me out because in the end what I am doing is just..." they know it's nowhere near enough to convince Crow to join them, ans so they add more incentive with a smirk, "or because I am one of four individuals who knows the whole truth about your mothers murder, and you are not going to find out about it from the other ones, that I can assure you.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I was personally sent out to deal with the other two before word got out,” The Black Mask informs them, only to say what Crow was getting to, “You’re right in thinking I couldn’t have possibly been the one to do it. I was merely used to clean up their mess. It’s easy to make mistakes when the past comes back to haunt you, I’m sure you, more than anyone else, understands that. So, Akechi, do we have a deal?”

Him, helping out the Black Mask? They were right, Crow had nothing up till now and maybe getting intel from the Black Mask themselves was the only way he’d ever uncover the truth behind his mother’s murder.

But there’s absolutely no way he’s going to team up with the very same person who almost killed him just a few months back, even if that wasn’t their full intention.

It’s something he doesn’t expect, and not something he can explain, but Crow starts chuckling at the offer, only to have it develop into full blown laughter, “Me? Help you? Why would I possibly do that? So, you can throw me under the bus again?” This time, instead of blue flames, Crow is slowly surrounded by black and red, and even the Black Mask takes a cautious step back, “Don’t make me laugh. All you do is murder and lie, and you expect me to trust you now? How easy do you think I am to manipulate?!”

The white prince outfit is burned away with the red and black flames, replaced by the other, darker one, as Loki appears above him and the mask disappears off of his face without him even needing to touch it. Unlike earlier, Loki doesn’t act out, instead awaiting his orders, “Leave now. Before I do something, I’ll regret,” Crow warns the Black Mask, who holds their ground. Instead of backing away, they shake their head.

“Come now, there is no need for that. Perhaps I did believe I could manipulate you, perhaps not” Black Mask changes their tactics and begins to taunt him, however as a precaution, they move both of their hands over to their mask, “but if Joker can do it, then it must be an easy feat.”

“Joker?”

Black Mask smirks, knowing they’ve hit just the right nerve with how Crow’s voice wavers ever so slightly, “Oh, did you honestly believe he didn’t make friends with you just to make use of your detective skills or your knowledge of the Metaverse?” The insinuation hits where Black Mask wants it to hurt, all previous doubts being brought forward by the villain, “face it, you’re already letting him use you like a servant, running his errands for him and cleaning up his messes.”

“He... he is my friend! He's not using me!” Crow shouts, clenching his fists till the knuckles underneath his gloves go white.

The shouting only makes Black Mask that much happier about getting to Crow, “And what exactly are you getting out of this relationship? Brief moments of acknowledgement and praise?” Black Mask continues to tease, taking a step forward this time, “It’s certainly not friendship. Otherwise you’d be working with him in a Palace alongside the rest of the Thieves, not solving petty issues out here in the wasteland that is the distortion of the collective masses. Akechi, he’s not your friend, no one is, and the sooner you acknowledge that-."

“Enough! I've heard just about enough from you!” Crow shouts and points at the Black Mask, “Destroy them, Loki!”

With the command, Loki throws his sword in the air, it spins around, and when it finally points in Black Mask’s direction, it sends out a blast of white and purple energy right at them. At such close proximity, the Black Mask has nowhere to run and takes severe almighty damage, but it’s nowhere near enough to keep them down, it's just enough for them to stumble backwards. Even with Loki seemingly in control, Crow’s still weaker than Black Mask.

The Black Mask removes part of their visor with one hand while simultaneously covering their face with the other, calling their personas name, “Morrigan!”

The persona from earlier appears above them, though this time it’s wings black wings expand, causing the wind to blow away and reveal the green, female figure underneath the cloak. It wears some black armour underneath in the shape of a leotard while its legs are covered with black thigh high boots.

It throws its hand at Crow and sends out an ice attack in his direction. Loki takes the hit, though Crow knows he can take it, and instead of making any attempts at defending himself, he sends waves of various magic attacks at Black Mask.

The Black Mask holds their own, able to take the damage and heal themselves almost instantly after. It infuriates Crow, but he doesn’t stop, the fight simply growing into a vicious cycle of Crow attacking Black Mask with what he can while Black Mask heals themselves back up.

“I’ve grown tired of watching you destroy yourself over something as petty as this,” the Black Mask calls upon it’s persona once more, but this time the same chains from earlier appear in it’s hands. Just when Loki is about to send out another Megidolaon attack, Morrigan wraps him in her chains and keeps him steady. It stops Crow himself from attacking Black Mask with a physical attack, since now he can feel invisible chains wrapped around himself too, “I’ve only ever used this on shadows, you know. I wondered what it would do to a persona user.”

“This….” Crow gasps out, trying to move but invisible chains prevent him from doing just that, “This isn’t… it’s nothing like a psychotic breakdown.”

“No, that was just an assumption you made based on that special ability of yours,” Black Mask comments, hand still very much covering as much of their face as possible, “I guess in that sense you are special. But I think being able to make Shadows do whatever I want them to by playing with the chains on their hearts is way more refined then driving them psychotic,” the Black Mask glances back and Morrigan tightens the chains around Loki.

It affects Crow too, suffocating him and causing any kind of retort he had to come out as gasps.

“Too bad you only learn that now,” Black Mask continues, “I wanted to let you live, even gave you a chance, but if you’re just going to be rude and obnoxious then you’re better off dying here, your body left to rot while the masses forget you ever existed.”

“L…” Crow tries to whisper out, “Lo-… ki.”

As soon as he says those words, the chains around Loki break and red and black flames surround Crow, allowing him to break free of the spell as well. His body shakes, but it’s not from the exhaustion or previous lack of oxygen. It’s from the uncontrollable power that courses through him, causing him to laugh like a maniac again. There's a voice inside of him begging him to stop, but it's completely quelled by the sudden and unexpected bloodlust and rage he feels, “You think I give a shit if I’m forgotten? I know no one cares about me, so why would I should I give a fuck about what happens down here? If I’m not going to find out who you are, then someone else will,” He spits out as he unsheathes his sword. He runs and slashes at the Black Mask, who’s face is once more covered by the visor and they just about get out of the way of the sword before Crow swings it down, “All I care about is uncovering the truth, so if killing you is what it's gonna take, then so be it."

The Black Mask is forced backwards with each of Crow’s movements, not giving the Black Mask even a second to reach for their mask and call for the help of their persona, and with little room to concentrate, the Black Mask ends up tripping over to tracks and falls over. With Loki looming over him, Crow pulls his gun out and points it at his enemy, “Pathetic. Here I hoped you’d put up much more of a fight.”

With no sense of logic or empathy left in him, Crow isn’t the least bit hesitant to pull the trigger. However, at the last second, he sees a barrier go up in front of the Black Mask, causing the shot to get deflected. It hits him in the shoulder instead and he cries out in pain. The next thing he sees is white and purple light overwhelming him. It sends him flying back and he hits his head hard against the wall.

“Get out of here. Now.”

It’s not his voice, and there’s nowhere near enough distortion for it to belong to the Black Mask, but it’s the last thing he hears before his eyes close and he passes out.

* * *

Goro’s eyes snap open the moment he comes out of his dream state, though he soon realises that it wouldn’t be the whole truth when phrasing it like that, finding himself in the Velvet Room for the first time since the accident. It’s not entirely unexpected, as it seemed like any event that affected him caused by the Black Mask brought him here.

He gets off the uncomfortable bed and trudges forward until he reaches the bars of his prison cell, “I have a question, Igor,” Goro says before the man explains why he’s there in the first place. The twin’s eye him cautiously, but neither say anything as Igor motions for him to speak further with his gloved hand, “You’ve asked me to choose between ruin or rehabilitation and at this point I’m not going to ask who work for which side, however… If either one of them were to kill me, then would they win this game you’re making us play?”

Igor nods and for what Goro thinks might be the first time since coming here, he actually confirms one of Goro’s hypotheses, “What you must know at this moment in time is this. Neither of them knows that they are indeed working for something that is beyond them. My other guests believe that a key component to their rehabilitation is convincing you to fully work alongside them. Although I expect you are already aware that they both strongly believe that their means justify the end result. It would be… problematic if either one knew they were destined for ruin.”

It’s far more information than Goro had even expected Igor to say, and it only brings him more internal struggle. Of course, it’s not like he could just forgive Black Mask for everything even if they did seek forgiveness… but with little to go on, how would Goro know what the Black Mask truly had in store. Was it possible that their actions would justify whatever they had planned? It's definitely what they seemed to insinuate earlier.

“A year later and I haven’t learned anything new about my mother’s murderer,” Goro brings up the promise Igor made him when he first awoke to his persona, “Tell me then, is there any reason for me to even continue playing? This game of yours has almost gotten me killed on multiple occasions and nearly turned me into a killer,” his grip on the cell doors tightens as he recalls everything. It’s true that since awakening, Goro’s not gotten any closer in that regard, and with the mental shutdowns becoming his primary focus, what drove him in his career as a high school detective was pushed completely to the back, “Is any of this even worth my time?”

It’s then that Caroline slams the bars with her baton, and although it makes Goro jump, he doesn’t let go of the bars, “Of course it’s worth it, inmate! Black Mask did tell you they know who killed them, didn’t they?!”

He’s not sure why, but he’s inclined to trust his warden, which only meant that they weren’t lying about that… Now if only the Black Mask wasn’t out for his blood now…

“You’ve learned to control Loki once more,” Igor moves on to the topic at hand entirely, “I hope you will not be hesitant to use him again, after all, he is far more powerful than Robin Hood.”

“I…” Goro hesitates in his reply. Loki was never a topic he thought he’d have to get back to since he last used him and swore to never summon him again unless absolutely necessary. And yet it was him who provoked the fight by summoning the persona, “I can’t use the power of a psychotic breakdown. Never again.”

Igor sighs and gets back to writing whatever it is that was in front of him with his feather pen, “That is disappointing, however not surprising. It is a shame that such a power would be wasted on you… and yet I am hopeful that you may see the potential in that ability someday.”

The alarm clock in the bedroom of his apartment begins to ring in the Velvet Room, signifying the end of his visit. His eyelids become heavy and he just about makes it back to the concrete bed before they close completely.

His last thought is that he doesn’t remember falling asleep in his own room.


	13. Can You Face Your True Feelings?

_Survival instincts tell Goro not to run away from the Black Mask and follow their suggestion. It’s not an acid trip anymore, Goro’s pretty sure that choking was not something brought about by most commonly found hallucinogenic drugs, and the way their hands were wrapped tightly around his neck moments ago felt far too real for it to be part of a dream._

_He follows the person through the empty tunnels, the silence between them filled with the sound of distant trains and howls. He doesn’t want to think too hard on why he was hearing that second thing, and tries to distract himself by asking questions, “What is this place?”_

_“I’ve been told it is referred to as ‘Mementos’,” The Black Mask answers quickly, though they don’t slow down their fast walking pace, “It is part of the Metaverse, a place made up of the collective unconscious. That’s-.”_

_“I’m well aware of what Jungian psychology is,” Goro interrupts them, “But I didn’t think it took on such a… literal form,” he considers the further implications of that, repeating what Black Mask had said to him earlier, “You asked me if I wanted to see my very soul. Did you mean that literally as well?”_

_“Yes. No more questions, no more talking. We wouldn’t want some Shadows attacking us now, would we?”_

_It shuts him up, but Goro’s distracted enough after the brief conversation to think about what the Black Mask had just said while following them quietly. A world where Shadows were presumably enemies… Then in a literal world such as this, did personas exist as some kind of outer entity? How would you even know to distinguish a persona from a Shadow?_

_He opens his mouth to ask that but closes it again when he remembers what Black Mask had just told him to do._

_Whatever they meant by Shadows, nothing seems to come their way, and after what seems like an eternity of endless moving staircases and dark tunnels, they reach an area where the tracks twist in on themselves and lead into an abyss of black and red._

_“He’s waiting for us,” the Black Mask, “Will you go face yourself?”_

_“What will seeing my most inner thoughts accomplish?” Goro asks, crossing his arms, “I already know how I see myself, I don’t need confirmation.”_

_“And yet, you followed me all the way here,” Black Mask points out, walking away from the glowing red portal, “Why is that?”_

_This time, instead of following the Black Mask, Goro walks alongside them, “You’re currently my only source of intel about this place. Supposedly, I can use it to find the truth behind the murder of my friend… and maybe even the murder of my mother. Is it really possible?”_

_There’s a howl, one much louder than anything they’ve heard before, followed up by the sound of metal chains sliding along the rails, “…follow me,” Black Mask orders, and Goro does so without hesitating, the foreboding sounds doing little to make him doubt the Black Mask now._

_They go back up a couple of levels before they reach an area that looks like a waiting room, where the Black Mask stops, “We should be safe here… but to answer your earlier question, it’s impossible to talk to the dead here. You will not find answers from them directly… the guilty, however, are a different matter. Give me a name and it'll be possible for you to make them spill all of their secrets.”_

_There’s definitely one name that pops up in Goro’s head, but he doesn’t say it aloud, considering his options carefully. It felt like moments ago that the Black Mask had a hand to his throat, and now they wanted to help him without even knowing who he is or whether anything he was even saying was the truth?_

_“What do you want in exchange?”_

_The Black Mask shrugs, “I never said I wanted anything in exchange. If there really is a murderer out there, then I would like to see them punished as much as you do. So then,” Black Mask pulls out their phone and shows the same app that Goro found mysteriously downloaded onto his phone back at him, one waiting for a name, “Do you have any suspects?”_

_“…Fujiwara Masafumi,” Goro mumbles, and the app immediately picks up his voice._

_“Candidate found.”_

* * *

The screech of his alarm clock is only muted with the throw of Goro’s pillow from his bed. He turns over on his back and groans, covering his eyes with his right arm while using his left to pat around his bedside table for his phone. He gives up when he can’t find it after just a few seconds, opting to check out and deal with whatever consequences he had to deal with later.

He must’ve been out the entire evening if his alarm clock is trying to wake him up, and there’s a voice in the back of his head telling him that he should be far more concerned about how he managed to get from Shibuya station all the way to his bed after passing out in Mementos. It’s probably Robin Hood’s rather than his own voice of reason. After yesterday's events he’s pretty sure that's gone completely.

The alarm continues to ring, and the repetitiveness begins getting on Goro’s nerves, so he shifts around, sits up, and finally gets out of bed. He notices that he’s wearing the same outfit as yesterday, save for the hoodie which lay at the end of his bed. Was it possible that he made it back himself while in some kind of dream state? That seemed unlikely.

He turns it off and gets out of his room, walking into the bathroom first. He washes his face before anything else, and he only catches sight of his reflection in the mirror once he’s rubbed his face with the towel. It’s the first time in who knows how long that he’s got no bags under his eyes, though he certainly doesn’t feel any less tired than he did on any other given day.

After brushing his teeth and changing into something more comfortable for the warm day off ahead of him, he looks around for his phone and finds it charging on his coffee table. As soon as he unlocks it he finds a few texts, along with an email.

The email can only be work, and since he doesn’t want to deal with that quite yet, he goes to his texts and opens up the first chat- his messages with Ren.

> **Robin:** Thanks for helping me out with that.
> 
> **Robin:** The people affected were really grateful for it too.
> 
> **Robin:** About Medjed- I’ll just save it for when you next come over.
> 
> **Robin:** It’ll be soon, right?

He doesn’t reply to him immediately. With both of them on their summer vacation, he doesn’t expect Ren to be up before noon anyway, and so he moves onto the next conversation.

> **Alibaba:** Well????
> 
> **Alibaba:** You’ve got to have something by now, right???
> 
> **Alibaba:** ?
> 
> **Alibaba:** Where are you?
> 
> **Alibaba:** Are you ignoring me now???
> 
> **Alibaba:**????

The messages continue in a similar manner all through the night, which is why Goro decides to answer those immediately with a quick text.

> **Akechi:** I was busy with the investigation and wasn’t paying attention to my phone.
> 
> **Akechi:** As for your uncle, I’ve not found anything that could help Sojiro, not yet.

He doubts that she’d actually admit to being Sakura so easily, but it’s worth a shot to see how she’ll deal with it. He doesn’t see any point in hiding it, since any crimes she may have committed in the process of contacting and asking him to do this aren’t part of his division. He hardly thinks locking up a 15-year-old hacker is gonna get him any sort of boost in popularity anyway.

> **Alibaba:** He’s not my uncle!!!
> 
> **Alibaba:** Whatever, just do your job!

Even if he wants to reply, he suspects that she’s already blocked him again, so he doesn’t pursue it needlessly.

He opens his last chat, which is an almost empty conversation between him and Sae Niijima. There’s only one new text there, sent to him the night before which prompts him to open up his email, proving his earlier hypothesis that the email was indeed about work.

There’s no putting it off now, not if Niijima asked him to do so by text, so he switches to his mailbox app and finds the email from her private account with an attachment.

> ‘ **I found this at your desk, but I was told that you never even entered the building today. I thought about what you said, and if there is a mole, then I thought it would be for the best if I kept any documents like this myself until you could pick them up personally. I’ve scanned it for you and sent it over in an encrypted file- I’m sure you can figure out the password.**
> 
> **-Niijima** ’

Curious, he guesses the password immediately- the name of the sushi restaurant they go to on occasion, - and discovers a file unconnected to the mental shutdown cases, but it interests him, nevertheless.

He switches apps again and tries to contact Alibaba once more. The message bounces back, but he knows she’ll read it somehow.

> **Akechi:** Do you happen to know when your uncle would be coming by Leblanc next?
> 
> **Alibaba:** Do you have something on him?

She replies almost immediately, and Goro guesses the enthusiasm is what gets her to drop the ball on that one. There’s a brief moment in which he considers teasing her about it, but that's not something a respected high school detective would do.

Ren is rubbing off on him too much.

> **Akechi:** Nothing to warrant an arrest of any sort, but perhaps enough to get him to leave Boss alone.

He knows it’s not a document that he himself found, and no one could possibly know he was investigating this. He hadn’t even told Sae about this, or Ren, and Sojiro himself told Goro not to get involved… so then how was it possible for someone to anonymously leave behind Isshiki’s bank statements?

> **Alibaba:** He usually comes by on Leblanc’s slower days.
> 
> **Alibaba:** Tomorrow might be one of those days.

* * *

_It doesn’t take them long to get to Masafumi’s Shadow since it's only a few floors up from their resting spot, and this time when they get to a red, twisted portal, Goro doesn’t hesitate to go through it._

_They enter a secluded area of Mementos, one where the tracks ended, and beyond those tracks is Masafumi’s Shadow, an exact copy of Masafumi save for the glowing yellow eyes and black mist swirling around his feet._

_“Try not to anger him too much,” The Black Mask advises, “Should anything happen, I may be unable to save you.”_

_Goro nods silently, and takes a few cautious steps over to the Shadow. On closer inspection, Goro notices the tears streaming down its face while its fists are clenched. As soon as it notices Goro, it quickly wipes away the tears with the back of it's arm and raises his clenched fists, “You! What do you think you’re doing here?!”_

_Sticking to Black Masks advice, Goro tries to remain calm and rational, though he regrets not asking the Black Mask earlier if Masafumi would even remember this conversation. He hopes he doesn’t, “I just came here for the truth, Masafumi. What happened in the classroom on the top floor?”_

_“You should know!” Masafumi's Shadow points accusingly at him, “You’re the reason Ikumi’s dead!”_

_Goro clenches his fist to the point that he can feel his nails digging into his skin, but beyond that he doesn’t show any other signs of anger in his posture or in his voice, “Explain to me, then, how is it my fault?”_

_“She and I wouldn’t even be there if it wasn’t for you constantly bothering her!” The Shadow shouts at him, “She was going to tell you to back off, and she just wanted me to be there as back up! So if I didn’t kill her, then it must’ve been you!”_

_The obvious contradiction in the statement confuses Goro, and it results in him relaxing his fist a little. If this was what Masafumi truly was, then why would he be lying to Goro, and in such an obvious way? Was he truly that much of an idiot...?_

_Unless he didn’t even realise he was lying._

_“Masafumi, what do you remember of that day?”_

_“Huh?” Masafumi’s Shadow too looks a lot less angry than before, “What do you mean? I remember everything! I… I was with Ikumi… and then…” confusion begins to settle on his face as he struggles to recall exactly what had happened, quickly transforming back into anger, “Whatever! It doesn’t matter! You’re the one who killed her, but you go around pretending like you’re the innocent one! You’re going to pay for that!”_

_As Masafumi’s Shadow dissolves into a black puddle and transforms into a black creature with a purple hat and two sets of razor-sharp teeth, Goro feels Black Mask running in front of him, using one hand to shove Goro out of the way and another to draw a red serrated sword._

_Goro falls over while Black Mask blocks an attack from the creature with the sword, “Don’t try to interfere,” Black Mask calls out to Goro, then jumps to attack the creature with their sword while Goro scrambles to his feet. The creature jumps away from it, and throws his hand out and multiple ice shards fly at both Goro and the Black Mask. The ice shards don’t seem to affect the Black Mask at all, but they sting and cut at the skin on Goro’s hands which he uses to cover his face, “My persona is useless against a Black Frost. You’ll have to hold out until I’m through with it!”_

_Black Mask jumps forward and tries to slash at it again but it’s no use as the Black Frost manages to jump away from the attack once more._

_With each attack from Black Frost aimed at both of them, Goro tries his best to jump out of the way, or cover his vitals, but even he can’t dodge everything. He feels completely useless, watching as this version of Masafumi tries to kill him while the stranger he just met tries to defend Goro to no avail. The Shadow even seems to pick up on it and taunts him, “What, you just going to let another one of your friends die? That’s all you’re good for, isn’t it?!”_

**_You’re not going to take the fall for someone like him, are you?_ **

_A sharp pain rings out in Goro’s head, but he tries his hardest to ignore it. He can’t be distracted now._

**_If they are defeated, then this boy won’t hesitate to kill you for his own crimes. No one will know the truth, and all that you’ve worked for will be forgotten._ **

_When Black Mask goes in for another strike, the Black Frost doesn’t jump away this time, instead it curls up it’s fist and punches Black Mask right in the gut. They grab onto their stomach as they sink to the floor._

_The pain in his head gets much worse when Black Mask doesn’t immediately stand back up, but rather than fall to his knees and cry out in pain, Goro holds a hand to his head, winces and tries to tough it out, groaning and grunting quietly when the voice in his head gets louder and louder._

**_You’ll fight, will you not?_ **

_“I… I can’t…” Goro shakes his head, trying to reason with the voice out loud. Maybe it’ll leave if Goro tries hard enough, “I’m not special… I have no way to fight back.”_

**_And if you did, then would how would you use that power?_ **

_“I’d… I’d use it to seek out justice against those have wronged society.”_

_The voice in his head laughs, and the pain becomes too much for him to handle. Goro falls to his knees and screams out in pain, ignoring the battle in front of him entirely. He doesn’t even care anymore if Black Frost had killed Black Mask or vice versa, doesn’t care if either of them are going to kill him now. It’ll be for the best if one of them would do that if it meant the pain would go away._

**_Form a contract with me, and I will grant you that power._ **

_It’s the only thing Goro can hear anymore, and while he’s unable to answer it through his screams, the entity seems to understand him without vocal consent._

_He suddenly feels something appear on his face- some kind of mask with a long nose. It burns at his skin where it seems to be fused to his face, and Goro reaches for the end of it with no hesitation. Ripping it off now would probably scar him for life, but he couldn’t care less about his appearance right now as he tries to tear the mask away, drawing blood as he does so._

**_I am thou, thou art I._ **

* * *

The next day, Goro is sure to wake up early so he can be at Leblanc exactly when it opens, bringing a briefcase full of unfinished casework files he needed to catch up on, as well as his laptop. He even gives himself some extra time to swing by the Niijima’s to pick up the file, where he meets the younger of the sisters. To his surprise, she offers to go with him to Leblanc, and the two end up on the train to Yongen-Jaya together.

Goro’s pretty sure she’s doing this as a favour to Ren, but he appreciates it, nevertheless.

“I don’t know if you can even tell me this… but does that file have anything to do with your investigation into the Phantom Thieves?” She asks curiously and as innocently as possible, but Goro knows better.

He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d even peeked at the files herself as a means of getting more intel about his ‘investigation’, and realised that the surname on that matched to one of the first mental shutdown victims, Wakaba Isshiki, “Ah, no… You’re right that I cannot say too much about that case, but this particular file actually has to do with a different case I’ve been working on in my free time.”

Niijima raises her eyebrow, even more curious now, though this time it seems more innocent and less forced, “I wasn’t aware that you worked on cases beyond what you tell the media…”

Goro chuckles, throwing on his fake media persona while he’s at it from habit, “Niijima-san, I don’t do this for the media attention. While it is certainly a perk, I don’t consider that to be what drives me to do what I do. In the end, I merely want to bring criminals to justice and improve our society.”

“How noble,” it comes off completely sarcastic on her behalf, like she knows that he’s not so righteous and selfless to be solving cases for a good cause, “and the money and fangirls are also just a nice bonus, right? Or the favours you can curry from various people of power by giving them a helping hand?”

The insinuations keep pilling on, and he realises he’s not going to convince her that he doesn’t only solve cases for his own benefit. He drops the persona entirely, “Niijima, why do you hate me?”

“Huh?”

“You’re only talking to me out of courtesy to Ren, correct?” Goro asks her, “But you’re barely able to contain your absolute disdain of me, and before you bring up that event from last month, you were actively avoiding me even before that. So, then, I repeat my question; why do you hate me?”

The train announcer calls for their stop, and they both stand up. They stand in front of the door, and Niijima looks out though the window of it as they approach the station, “I don’t hate you, Akechi,” Niijima admits, sounding completely honest for the first time today, “I just don’t trust you. I don’t think you’re doing any of this for a selfless goal. I think you’re using your resources for your own agenda, and I wouldn’t even judge you for that if you were honest about it. But since you can’t be honest about something so basic, then why would I possibly trust anything else you have to say? I might be a pushover from time to time, but at least I've learned to be honest with myself.”

The journey to the café is completely quiet between the two of them neither of them in the mood to continue their hostile discussion.

Before he enters the café, Goro thinks about Crow’s relationship with Queen. Perhaps he’d have to settle for getting along with the Thieves only as Crow rather than as Goro Akechi. He certainly wasn’t getting on Niijima’s side and Sakamoto had mentioned to Crow how much Akechi bothered him in a previous trip, with Mona backing him up on that and Panther, Joker and Fox remaining silent.

It’s for the best, Goro thinks as he orders the usual at the bar while Niijima sits down in a booth, at least it’s fewer lies he has to navigate through.

After coming down the stairs a few minutes later, Ren barely acknowledges Goro sitting at the bar, instead deciding to leave and hang out with Niijima for the day, which bothers Goro more than it should. The guy clearly made plans with her before and Goro never showed up during the day anyway but… the least he could do is say hi, maybe offer for the three of them to hang out together. Goro would decline, of course, but the gesture would have been nice.

Why is he thinking about that anyway? Was it just what the Black Mask said that was making him jealous like some kind of love-sick school girl? Ren had asked him when he’d next come by the café, a question which Goro had ignored so he could surprise him the next day…

And wasn't Ren supposed to tell him about Medjed? Yet he chooses to spend time with a girl he already went to school with, talked to regularly and infiltrated Palaces with instead.

Goro shakes his head, hoping it would make this stupid jealousy go away but it doesn’t. It stays in his head and Goro hates it. Niijima is just Ren's teammate and senior at school. They weren’t doing anything beyond that.

Probably.

Hopefully.

Dammit why does he even care?

* * *

_With newfound energy and power, Goro makes quick work of the Black Frost when summoning Robin Hood. He’s definitely not on the same power level as Black Mask is, but after helping them recover, Goro manages to land his bless attacks on the Shadow while Black Mask stays on the sidelines. There’s a minor set back when the Shadow throws back his own curse attack, but it barely affects Goro who just keeps attacking it until there’s nothing left._

_The Shadow disappears into a dark puddle, and worried about the implications it may have on the real world, Goro looks to the Black Mask for help, “Will he be okay?”_

_The Black Mask sheathes their sword, “I’m certain someone his age won’t die from that.”_

_“Right,” Goro isn’t sure what to make of the lack of details on that statement, but he doubts Black Mask would tell him anyway even if he asked. He walks over to where Masafumi’s Shadow had melted, and crouches down to inspect whether it left anything behind._

_The attack and Masafumi’s previous words make Goro even more convinced about his hunch, that it is in fact Masafumi who killed Ikumi... but then why was he unable to remember it? And would he confess to it now that Goro’s defeated the Shadow? After all, the Shadow was some kind of representation of his worst traits... right...?_

_When he stands up and looks over to ask the Black Mask about any of it, the other persona user is gone without a trace._

_The howling in the tunnels is the only sound that’s left, and it encourages Goro to leave the dreadful subway before anything else attacks him._

* * *

Ren returns without Niijima and takes a seat across from Goro who had moved to one of the booths throughout the day, papers spread across the table while he has his own laptop in front of him with his 5th cup of coffee that day sitting next to it, “Someone’s been busy,” Ren says first.

“It’s quiet here, it keeps me focused,” Goro lies while still typing at his laptop, “You’re not here to throw me out, are you?”

Ren shakes his head and looks over to Sojiro who seems far more interested in his newspaper than their conversation, then looks back over to Goro, “You know, friends let each other know if they’re alive instead of coming by unannounced.”

“I’m a customer, Ren,” Goro makes a point to take a sip of his coffee at that very moment, “I didn’t think I had to make a reservation before coming here.”

Ren sits back in the booth, and changes topic to what he clearly wanted to bring up since sitting down, “According to Makoto, your investigation from the other day seems to have been a success. Well, that’s not how she phrased it since she’s convinced you’re closing in on us with those bank statements.”

“Her reasoning isn’t entirely wrong,” Goro points out and closes his laptop, certain that he’s not going to get anymore work done. It doesn’t bother him since Leblanc would be closing it’s doors within the hour regardless, “And not quite. I ran into some issues and had to leave, but some files regarding the case were found on my desk shortly after. I double checked them and they’re legitimate, so I’m grateful for the one who dropped them off.”

“You don’t know who dropped them off?” Ren raises an eyebrow, “So, you’re not worried at all that some stranger has access to your work desk in the police department and the police didn’t even notice?”

Goro chugs down the rest of his coffee, “Of course I’m worried, Ren… which is why from now on I plan to work as much as I can from home. I’ll be limiting my TV appearances as well to the essentials.”

For some reason, this seems to make Ren smile, and Goro quickly learns why, “So… over this summer holiday you and I will both be free to hang out? Beyond just work stuff? Do you, uh... would you want to do something? Together?”

He can’t help it, but Goro ends up smiling himself at the thought of finally spending the summer holidays like most teenagers do… to an extent. It’s better than what he had before at least, “Yes. I would like that.”

“How about breakfast tomorrow?”

The bells on the door chime before Goro can give Ren an answer, indicating the arrival of a new customer. As Goro expects before turning around, it’s not really a new customer, but the same man in the jacket and cap he’d seen harassing boss less than a week ago. Ren seems to stiffen too, and Goro thinks that the man might have come by Leblanc in Goro’s brief absence from the cafe. He finds a copy of the file in a similar manila folder underneath some papers and places it on top of the others, waiting for an opening.

“What’s it gonna be? You ready to give me the money?”

Sojiro sets his newspaper down and stands up. He warily glances over to the boys before glaring at the uncle, “I’m not giving you the money, and I’m definitely not letting you anywhere near Futaba!”

“Heh,” The uncle smirks and turns back around, “Well, I doubt the court will let you keep her anyway. She home? I can go get her myself-.”

“Don’t bother,” Goro says, standing up with the file in hand. He pulls out the bank statements and shows them to him, “You’re merely using Futaba as a bargaining chip even though you have no grounds on which to take her back, not if your use of her support money has a say in the matter.”

“What?” The uncle spits out, “Stay out of this, kid, this ain’t any of your business.”

“Actually, I believe you made it my business when you started threatening this man right in front of a detective,” Goro points out smugly, while putting the papers back into the envelope. He puts them down on the counter and slides them over, “I haven’t reported any of this to the police, but I think it’s in the best interest for everyone involved that it stays that way. All that I ask is that you stop coming to this establishment and stop harassing Sakura-san and his daughter.”

The uncle grits his teeth and clenches his fist, “You expect me to believe that some smug little shit like you has any say in this?”

From behind him, Sojiro seems to hold his ground as well, “I’m not paying you anything. Get out of here.”

“Why you-,” the uncle lunges at Goro, but at that moment Ren pushes him out of the way of the punch. It makes no difference as the man falls over, misses all of them and yelps out in pain, “You brat! You did this! I’m going to sue you!” He points at Ren.

Ren let’s go of Goro, who straightens out his shirt, “I don’t think so. Leave before you embarrass yourself any further.”

The man scrambles off of the floor and grumbles something about contacting his lawyers as he leaves the café.

When Goro turns around, he’s met with the annoyed expression of one Sojiro Sakura, “I told you not to get involved…But, uh…” Sojiro’s expression quickly softens, “Thanks for that. I’m sorry if I cause you any trouble at your place of work.”

“I don’t think he’s gonna get in trouble for investigating...,” Ren mutters all of a sudden.

“And you,” Sojiro looks over to him, “aren’t you in enough trouble as is? Are you that desperate to go back to juvenile hall?”

“’Teen gets sent to jail after saving Tokyo’s own beautiful Detective Prince’?” Ren asks, “It would be worth it.”

Goro and Sojiro both exhale a sigh of exasperation and find themselves saying the exact same thing, “Don’t be an idiot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Muuuch longer chapter than I anticipated, but I hope y'all enjoy it!  
> You guys being so positive about the previous chapter has made me so happy and improved my absolutely terrible week considerably so thank you so much for your continued support, I really appreciate it!  
> Coming up next: Valentine's Day Special and More


	14. Misunderstanding

Goro agrees with Ren to leave any discussions about Medjed for a different day, and so, he ends up going to Inokashira park the next day. Given the nature of their discussion, Goro ends up leaving the house in a baseball cap and sunglasses again as to not accidentally attract any fans or get harassed by the public on his views on the Phantom Thieves, though it’s hot enough for him to be able to pull the look off without any questions.

After buying some ice cream, the boys walk through the park in silence, until they find a spot under a tree away from prying eyes and ears. Ren asks Goro to hold his ice cream while the other inexplicably pulls a blanket out from his bag before laying it on the grass. So, he planned for this, but given that the park was Ren’s idea, Goro isn’t so surprised that he’s ready. He wondered earlier why his bag seemed so full. He doubted Morgana had put on that much weight since he last saw the cat.

They only start up the conversation when both sit down, Ren choosing to lean against the tree while Goro does the same next to him, “According to their website, you’ve yet to solve your issue with Medjed.”

Ren licks up some of his chocolate ice cream off of the cone before it melts down his hands, making them uncomfortably sticky, “It’s gonna take more than a week for us to deal with Medjed, you of all people should know that it's a process that takes time.”

“Then you are not surrendering?” Goro pauses to pick his vanilla ice cream out of his cup with his spoon and place it in his mouth. He swallows, then continues, “I take it you didn’t contact me with no idea how to solve this predicament?”

“We’ve found someone who can probably hack Medjed and solve our problems for us,” Ren informs him, but Goro knows better than to expect someone to do something like this without getting anything in return from the notorious Phantom Thieves.

“What do they want you to do?”

“Before you say anything, just hear me out, okay?” Ren asks him, and Goro hesitantly agrees with a nod, “She want us to change her heart. She specifically requested it, and all of us Phantom Thieves agreed to do it in the end, especially since she wanted it for herself… once we do it, she said she’d take care of our problems."

“She?”

Ren nods, “Sakura Futaba. She’s the girl you were helping when you went to Mementos.”

There was no way Ren wouldn’t have figured out he was working on that case yesterday, but how was it possible for him to know that his trip to Mementos involved specifically interrogating Sakura’s uncle, or more specifically, failing to do that.

There’s a couple of explanations, so Goro tries to get it out of him, “You were the only one who knew I was going to Mementos the other day… did you happen to follow me inside? Do you know what exactly happened while I was there?”

“You mean how you nearly killed Black Mask before I stopped you from making that mistake?” Ren asks, looking out towards the park while Goro turns his head to watch his expression. There’s nothing there when Ren tries to explain himself, “I didn’t follow you in, not at first, but I was done for the day and decided that if not the back up, then you could probably use some company. I took a shot and figured I’d most likely find you taking care of one of our targets, which is how I found you… I guess you didn’t notice me at first, but I watched your fight with the Black Mask… it's how I knew you were going too far and had to stop you.”

The story doesn’t completely add up, not how Ren was able to stop Goro in the first place, not how he managed to deal with Black Mask or how he got Goro back to his apartment without the other hearing about getting carried through the train station on social media, “That’s not the whole truth, is it?” Goro calls him out on it.

“Are we really here to talk about that?” Ren asks him, “I don’t know why, but after seeing me take you out, Black Mask ran off before they could kill me or you. Mona was with me, so it was easy enough to take you back to the surface. After that I called for a taxi and took you home, told the driver that you got a really bad case of heatstroke and that I was taking you home to take care of you. Now, can we get back to Medjed?”

He’s not completely satisfied with the response, but if that’s all he was going to get right now then Goro settles for it for the time being. Ren is right, Medjed is a much more pressing issue, “We can, although it seems you have everything under control already.”

“We could use your help.”

Goro shakes his head and tries to scoop up the remainder of his ice cream- now mostly melted, “You know how I feel about this. As far as I’m aware, Sakura is not a hardened criminal-.”

“But she did ask for the change of heart herself,” Ren interrupts him, “It’s not immoral if she’s the one asking for it… and her Palace is a maze, we could use someone with your experience, logic and strategy skills to get through it.”

“It has nothing to do with the Black Mask.”

Ren turns his head and looks directly at Goro, “After that encounter in Mementos, are you sure you want to try and confront them again so soon?”

This time, Goro looks away from Ren and down at the blanket, “I suppose I could use some kind of break… I have more time now that we have summer break and I’m going to limit my TV appearances…”

“So, you’ll come with us?” Ren asks, “At least to check it out. If you don’t think it’s a good idea after that then you can just leave, no questions asked.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Goro nods and sets his empty cup of ice cream on the ground while Ren finishes off his cone, “Although, if possible, not this week. I need a break from the Metaverse for at least that long.”

Ren understands, and with the deadline still a long way away, he's ready to compromise on that. When he’s done with the ice cream, Ren turns around and lies down, resulting in his head lying in Goro’s lap. The other blushes intensely at the unexpected contact, but he doesn’t ask Ren to move away, nor does he take the initiative to move the boy who now had his eyes shut off of himself, “Outside of Futaba’s Palace I’m pretty free. Let’s hang out together this week.”

“A-alright,” Goro stutters, and berates himself mentally for it. He hears Loki laughing at him in his head and can’t help but agree with the sentiment.

* * *

Five days after their meeting in the park, Goro ends up going to the courthouse to check on whether Sae was getting anywhere closer with the mental shutdown cases. He picks up two coffees from Leblanc first, returning her favour from long ago, and walks down to the courthouse just before lunch time in hopes that she wasn’t currently in a courtroom working on a different trial.

Luckily, that doesn’t seem to be the case as he finds her sitting at her usual spot on the bottom floor, reading case files on her laptop. He sets down her coffee next to her laptop and takes a seat in the empty chair in front of her. She briefly glances up from her work with a raised brow, “It’s been a while since you’ve been here for long enough to take a seat. Should I be concerned?”

Goro chuckles and shakes his head, “I should hope not.”

“I saw the interview you did yesterday,” Sae tells him and glances back down at the files, “I was hoping you would explain yourself to me, although don’t feel like you owe me an explanation.”

Unlike her sister's, Sae’s words certainly feel genuine, and Goro detects a hint of concern from her as well, “It’s partially to avoid getting any more hate than I already have from speaking out against the Phantom Thieves, and partially for my own protection. I could use the break from the spotlight in any case, and I’m certain it won’t be hard for me to get it all back once I discover who’s behind these incidents.”

“Is that the only reason you want some time off?” Sae asks, voice full of insinuation, and leans closer to her laptop to type something into it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Goro asks, baffled and oblivious.

Once she finds what she’s looking for, she turns the laptop around to reveal a series of tweets dedicated just to him, “I’m not one to follow social media, but the other day someone told me your name was trending in Japan and so I had to see why for myself.”

He starts scrolling through the twitter feed, finding mostly blurry pictures of him and Ren eating ramen together out in Ogikubo, or Ren buying him sweets in Chinatown, or him looking around the bookstore in Jinbocho while arguing with Ren over which Phoenix Featherman character was the most powerful, all taken over the course of the week, and a clear sign that any attempts to make himself invisible in the eye of the public were all for naught. It’s probably the first time he’s been spotted hanging around with someone his age so frequently since gaining fame, but he still doesn’t quite understand what it all means. He turns the laptop back towards Sae, “I’m still not sure I follow Niijima-san…”

Sae lets out an exasperated sigh, “For a detective as brilliant as you, you do seem to be completely oblivious to these things. Akechi-kun, if you wish to take some time off so you can spend some more time with your boyfriend, then I completely understand that, but I’d prefer if you were more honesty with me about it.”

“B-boyfriend?!” Goro shouts out, briefly attracting the attention of surrounding lawyers while nearly dropping his coffee and spilling it on the ground. He doesn’t care for either, instead more focussed on he conversation at hand, “Ren is not my boyfriend, Niijima-san, merely a friend who I’ve been spending time with…”

She’s evidently scrolling through the rest of the feed, finding more and more photos of Ren and Goro doing things together that mostly couples would do at this time of the year, “Forgive me then for these questions, and stop me if they are too personal… but, are you quite sure about that? Or that he knows that?” She turns the laptop again to show him a less blurry photo of the two sharing a boat in Inokashira park, followed up by a photo a couple of tweets down from the time that Ren successfully stole some of Goro’s cotton candy when they were at Dome Town.

It paints a picture for the public, certainly, but Ren must know that they were just friends, right? All of these things were things normal friends did. Just cos Ren sometimes paid for dinner was a kind gesture and his way of returning the favours he owed Goro… right?

A better question was, did Goro actually want Ren to think that? Could he be more than just friends with the other?

He glances down at the tweets, and while there were a few fangirls who tried to debunk the idea by stating how clear it was that he wasn’t gay or by pointing out that he’s too busy for pursuing such things, and while it was to be expected that some homophobic comments would come up, the majority of the public on twitter seemed to be showing him overwhelming positive support for his relationship with Ren… even if it was non-existent as far as Goro was concerned.

After the initial embarrassment he faced earlier, Goro tries to play it cool for now with Sae, “Ren is just a close friend, though I’ll try to be more careful in the future… as for my free time, it is more of an added bonus to be able to spend some time with him, rather than it being the reason for this decision.”

The words don’t feel entirely right coming out from him, and he doesn’t wait to see if Sae believes him about that or not, instead choosing to pull out his phone and text Ren himself, forgetting the initial reason for why he was here to begin with. He starts off with checking if Ren’s even there, noticing once again a shift in their nicknames.

> **Sholmes:** Back to the gentleman thief theme I see
> 
> **Lupin:** Yeah, bit less obvious now though.
> 
> **Lupin:** I read the book like you recommended.

With the immediate replies, Goro gets straight to the point.

> **Sholmes:** We can discuss that some other time. Am I right in assuming you are in Leblanc right now?
> 
> **Lupin:** I’m working, but Boss will probably let me take a break.

Goro gets out of the chair, and puts his phone back in his pocket, “Ah, I apologise Niijima-san, but it seems like something has come up… I would like for us to meet up soon to discuss recent events and how the case is going along. I’ll contact you about the next time I’ll be coming by here.”

Niijima lifts up the cup of coffee, “Good luck, Akechi-kun. I’m sure you’ll need it with whatever it is you’ll be doing.”

* * *

Goro wastes no time in leaving the courthouse and getting to Leblanc in search of the answers to his questions. The bells above Leblanc’s door chime, signalling his arrival. There’s a couple of people inside, most likely here to get away from the heat, and Sojiro is busy making coffee while Ren himself dries some cups. He sets the one in his hand down on the counter when he notices Goro’s arrival and looks over to Sojiro, “Hey boss, mind if I take five?”

Sojiro looks over to the clock, then back down at the coffee in front of him, “You can have the rest of the day off, kid. I doubt it’ll get much busier later.”

Ren quietly thanks the man, and walks out from behind the bar to talk to the other, “You want to go somewhere in particular?”

Goro points towards his stairs, “I want to talk, Ren, so how about we do this in your room?”

* * *

Goro paces around the room, trying to come up with the right words while Ren observes him from his couch. He patiently waits and watches him, Morgana long gone from the room to go exploring, or more likely, to not be in the room while Goro and Ren talked.

Eventually, Goro stops in front of Ren’s window, “Why does everyone seem to think we’re in a relationship?”

There’s a few seconds before Ren answers, and when Goro turns around he realises it’s because the question confuses him, “Because… you’ve agreed to do all sorts of things only couples do… even I thought it was your way of trying to tell me that we’re together now.”

“Well, we’re not,” Goro moves away from the window, “despite what the public might say.”

"You say that like it's such a bad thing," Ren mutters, then pulls out his phone. He swipes until he shows Goro a selfie he took that week, one Ren took when they were out on the pond, with Goro feeding the fish in the background, "Don't tell me you didn't have fun doing all of this."

Goro takes a hold of the phone to look closer at the photo. It's been sometime since he saw himself smiling and it was completely genuine, and it gives him a warm feeling when he realises how easily Ren was able to invoke it. Still, that's not why he's here, so he gives the phone back, "I was only following you because I thought that's what friends did. If you had any other intentions, you could have just said."

Ren pockets his phone, "Yeah, I thought I did. Hundreds of times. Wait... you're not bothered about us being together..." Ren slowly puts the pieces together, "No, you said it's what the public thinks, not what you misunderstood. Is that it?"

Silence hangs in the air while Goro refuses to back down so easily from Ren. There's plenty of reasons they can't be together, the public's already fickle opinion of Goro being one of them. While supposedly being with Ren had little negative consequence thus far, who knew how slowly this would turn against him were he to pursue it. He can't lose everything for the sake of a relationship.

Ren gets off of the couch when Goro remains quiet,“Does it seriously bother you that much if people think we are together? Goro, I like you, a lot, and if you don’t like me then I understand and I’ll back off, but don’t tell me you don’t want to try and do this because of what the public thinks.”

“That’s not the only reason. You know I don’t have time to pursue a relationship.”

“You’ve spent this entire week doing pretty much just that,” Ren counters.

“What about the Phantom Thieves?” Goro asks, “It would be impossible to separate whatever it is that we’re doing from our mission in the Metaverse.”

Ren walks over to Goro and ends up trapping him between his desk and his bed. It’s not on purpose, Goro doesn’t think, but the other does nothing to move away, “We’ve been working around that just as friends, it wouldn’t be that different if we were together. If you don’t want to be with me, then just say it.”

“I…”

“Why are you so desperate to not make this work? Please don’t tell me you think what the Black Mask is actually true?” Ren guesses, and Goro remains wordless. He’s not quite sure if it’s his imagination, but when Goro looks at Ren, he thinks his eyes are glassier than he remembers them, “What will it take for me to prove to you that I actually care about you, Goro?”

Goro carefully places a hand on Ren’s shoulder, unsure of whether to pull him closer or push him away. There are so many reasons why they can't be together, why it's a terrible idea, and yet Ren knows exactly how to shoot down each argument he has with just a few words, “You’re not asking to be with me, Ren, you barely even know who I really am. I can’t be the person you want me to be. I’ve done some bad things in my life, some things I’m ashamed of… I can’t ask you to be around something like that.”

“That’s not what I want,” Ren shakes his head, “I don’t want some flawless, picture perfect version of you. I want the real you. So, if I like you, and you like me, then what’s stopping us? Give me a reason for why we shouldn’t be together.”

There’s still some need for Goro to come up with more excuses, without even denying that he does in fact have feelings for Ren, feelings that clearly Ren was aware of before even he knew, but there’s nothing there, no reason for him not to pursue him, no reason to hold back.

He leaves the need to push back behind and pulls Ren closer to him until his lips are hovering just above Ren’s, “There are no reasons.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
> 
> Anyway, next week, back to the regularly scheduled mystery.


	15. I'm Going to Die Here

“I don’t really get it,” Ren breaks the silence in Untouchables by talking to Goro while fully aware of just how much Iwai was ignoring them both, opting to read his magazine rather than pay attention to a loyal customer and occasional employee. The group had decided to infiltrate the palace the next day, as soon as Ren got together the weapon upgrades and medicine they needed, “So, you’re hiding away from the media.”

“Yes,” Goro picks up a model pistol, and holds it in his hand. There’s only ever been one other time he’s had to hold a real gun, back when the department forced him to take part in some basic training should the need for him to use a firearm arise, so he doesn’t have that much point of reference as to how realistic the model is.

“And BM knows who you are at this point an what your intentions are. Or it definitely looked like it from that fight,” Ren brings up, and Goro remains silent while waiting for his boyfriend to get to the point, “And you think BM might be on my team, or at least to some capacity tracking our movements in the Metaverse.”

“That is correct,” Goro confirms again and sets the model down. He turns around and finds Ren inspecting a model of an assault rifle, a weapon meant for Fox if Goro remembered correctly, “Are you going to get to the point today or will I have to wait until we’re actually inside the Palace?” He whispers just in case.

Ren stops looking over the gun just so he can turn his head and roll his eyes at Goro, “Impatient. But fine, my point is that you could probably stop with all the sneaking and tell everyone who you really are.”

“After shit-talking myself with Skull and Queen?” Goro raises an eyebrow and folds his arms, “I think not. I’d much rather complicate my life than face that sort of embarrassment.”

Ren moves through the shop, picking up an SMG along the way before placing it in front of the shop owner, along with a bag full of treasure, or garbage in Goro’s eyes, from the Metaverse. He continues to chat about this with Goro while Iwai adds up his purchase and how much he owes him for the ‘treasure’, “First of all, seeing you embarrassed is exactly why I’m suggesting this.”

“Very supportive of you. I'm thrilled with how much I can count in you in this.”

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” Ren winks at the detective, “Joking aside, I’m sure if you explain yourself to everyone they’ll understand. They’re more forgiving than you might think.”

Goro looks down at the weapons and treasure on the counter rather than at Ren, “And what about tipping off the culprit about my true intentions behind joining your group?”

“I’m pretty sure they say right through you,” Ren points out, although Goro already had his own suspicions about that. Black Mask somehow knew where to follow Goro and had their own theories about the nature of his and Ren’s relationship, as well as how Goro saw the Thieves when he was with them as Crow, “I think at this point, it's the best thing you can do if you want to outsmart them. Join us full time, talk to everyone one in your free time and figure it out from there instead of lurking in the Shadows.”

Goro shakes his head, “There is absolutely no chance that Sakamoto and Niijima would want to spend their free time with me.”

Ren shrugs, “then start off with Ann, Morgana and Yusuke, they don’t have anything against you beyond what you’ve said about the Phantom Thieves on TV. And since you’ve given up on insulting us out in public, I’m sure the other two will eventually come around.”

Goro looks up at the owner of the shop, alarmed by how Ren had suddenly changed from discussing this in a somewhat coded way to essentially admitting that he's one of the Phantom Thieves. Iwai, however, simply hands over the cash to Ren for the treasure, minus the guns, and wraps them up for him in some brown paper as to not attract attention outside.

Which could only mean that this person knew exactly who Ren really was, and Ren already knew that. No wonder the man was content with selling model guns to a teenager.

They leave the shop once the guns are passed back over to Ren, now on their way to obtain medicine from whom Goro only assumed would be another person who knew exactly why Ren needed strange medicine to begin with, “If this backfires, I’m blaming you.”

“Yeah, yeah, if this doesn’t work then you can just have me arrested and claim your glory over that on every flashy news program that'll interview you,” Ren grins at him and Goro gives out an exasperated sigh.

“That’s not what I… actually, you know what? If your popularity drops, I may just take you up on that offer.”

* * *

_Masafumi is absent from class for the next few days, and with little contact with anyone in his class, it’s difficult for Goro to find out whether his actions in the Metaverse have anything to do with it, until his homeroom teacher announces the news that the bully was taken to the hospital earlier that week and it’s impossible to tell when he’d be back._

_It's enough to tip Goro off that he needs to take things into his own hands once more._

_The app on his phone was still there, no matter how many times he tried to delete it. He doesn’t want to run the risk of meeting the Black Mask again. They helped him with the case, to some extent, but Goro still has no proof against Masafumi, and what’s worse, he’s now incapable of asking the real version of the culprit about the case as well._

_Except… there's still one loose end, and Goro has a hunch about it._

_He’s outside Shibuya station again, looking down at the red app on his phone which glares back at him, hesitating to open it up. He’s fairly certain that his actions are what drove Masafumi into a coma, but maybe if he doesn’t anger the Shadow like Black Mask had told him then it wouldn’t happen again._

_But why should he even trust those words? Didn’t Black Mask lie about what would happen to Masafumi in the first place?_

**_I’m certain someone his age won’t die from that._ **

_He supposed Black Mask wasn’t entirely lying about it, just omitting the truth, but it still left a bad taste in Goro’s mouth._

_It’s his only option to get some answers. There’s no way an unknown orphan like him would ever be listened to by Masafumi’s father otherwise._

* * *

Goro’s happy that the Thieves seem to have taken some kind of advice from him about changing their hideout to something less obvious, though he’s worried about just how much of Sakamoto shouting about their missions can be heard in the coffee shop downstairs. Hopefully the elders will just think they’re playing some kind of game whenever Sakamoto shouts about Palace’s and treasures.

Today is a little different from the other times he’s met up with the group, all of them clearly tense when Ren brings him up to the attic, now in just his casual clothing and nothing to hide his identity.

Niijima is the first to bring it up, eyes wide and failing horribly at acting like the group wasn't going to do anything suspicious, “R-Ren! I-I see you brought Akechi-kun up here.”

“Uh... haha, funny to find you here of all places,” Takamaki fakes a laugh, her acting even worse than Niijima’s.

Goro doesn’t bother with acting on his own. He doesn’t want to wait around longer than necessary, so he pulls out his phone and opens up the MetaNav, then goes into his bookmarks. Ren had already given him the keywords before coming here, so Futaba’s Palace is one of two bookmarks that shows up on it, “It’ll be faster to show you all rather than tell you why I am here.”

“Show us?” Sakamoto asks, “The hell you talkin’ about-.”

**BEGINNING NAVIGATION**

* * *

_This time when he enters the twisted subway station, he’s not wearing the random jeans and hoodie he managed to grab before leaving his foster home, but instead he’s in that ridiculous white outfit and red plague doctor mask that stand out far too much for his comfort in the darkness of Mementos._

_The cape was what made the outfit even more ridiculous than it already was... or at least that’s what he’d say if anyone he knew saw him. As silly as it was, he kind of likes it. It’s childish, but then a childhood was exactly the one thing he barely got to experience, and if he had to face literal demons to wear it then so be it._

_If he has his way, then only one person will have truly seen him in an outfit like this._

_He remembered to bring some weapons with him this time, currently hidden in his pockets. It’s just a kitchen knife he managed to sneak out from the foster home and a crudely painted over toy gun. He doesn’t think it’ll help much, but maybe just pointing a gun at the Shadows here would be enough to scare off at least the weaker ones, especially in darkness like this._

_Goro looks down at the app on his phone, now showing him a map of Mementos. It’s nothing close to what it looked like when the Black Mask found his Shadow in terms of size, but there’s a dot that blinks on the floor below him. Fujiwara Hiroyasu, Goro assumes, the man he believes may be responsible for the cover up. His re-election depends on him having a clean record and having a murderer for a son certainly dirtied that._

_Copying Black Masks moves from the other day, Goro tries to move as quietly as possible while making his way through the tunnels, careful whenever he sees a Shadow to and trying to avoid them at all costs. When he does get spotted by one, he pulls out the kitchen knife, and with Robin Hood’s help he makes quick work of the Slime’s and Pixie’s in the area._

_Eventually, he reaches a similar red and black portal, like the one which lead him to Masafumi before, and he steps through it, only to find someone unexpectedly waiting for him on the other side, “How did you-.”_

_“I followed you into Mementos,” Black Mask tells him, “and after that, I knew you’d be coming here eventually so I took a few shortcuts while you were busy dealing with the Shadows. So, what’s your plan this time?”_

* * *

When they’re standing outside the pyramid in the hot desert in their Phantom Thief clothes, Crow wants nothing more than to head inside where it was supposedly colder, at least according to Joker. Instead, he’s left holding his hands up in surrender when he’s got 5 different weapons pointed at him, all ready to fire, "I see Joker failed to mention that you were already suspicious of me and prepared for something like this... or perhaps he didn't even know of your distrust in me.”

“We knew somethin’ was up after you talked to us in the TV station,” Skull informs him, “Didn’t know you and Crow were the same person but we didn’t wanna bring it up with him,” Skull nods over to Joker, who’s standing next to Crow, and moves his arm in front of the detective.

“He’s on our side, guys,” Joker insists and holds his other hand out towards them, “He didn’t tell us before because he wanted to trick the Black Mask, but after he helped me with something in Mementos… well things got complicated and now he’s with us. Full time.”

Mona lowers his slingshot first and hides it entirely, uncomfortable with pointing it at his leader who now stood in the way of his shot, “I thought we agreed on things like these unanimously,” he jumps up angrily, though it doesn't have the vaguely threatening effect that Crow's certain the cat tried and failed to achieve.

“Yeah,” Joker nods, “And we agreed to have Crow join us whenever he wanted to. The fact that he’s really Akechi Goro shouldn't change that.”

Unlike Mona, Fox and the rest of the group keep their guns trained on the two of them out of caution, “He’s been against us since the Phantom Thieves became popular, and lying to you as Crow even before that. Do you expect us trust him now?”

Crow shakes his head and puts a hand on Joker’s shoulder to get him to step to the side, “I don’t. Obviously, I cannot convince you that I don’t mean you harm, especially after what I’ve said about you all publicly. There are many reasons for why I do not wish to retract those statements online or otherwise, however, but I do not want to end our work here.”

Panther lowers her gun, as does Fox and Skull, though neither of them put their weapons away, “Aren’t you even going to apologise to us?”

“And how are you going to fix this?” Queen asks, “You have a plan, right?”

Crow nods, “I do apologise, of course, I never wanted to harm any of you by lying or deceiving you or otherwise… as for my plan, I wish to regain your trust by working alongside you all, properly this time. If possible, I’ll try to use my resources to further the Phantom Thieves agenda and keep you all updated on the investigation against you.”

“Isn’t that against the law?” Joker brings up, turning around now so he can face Crow as well.

Crow grins slyly, “Oh this is highly unethical, yes, but I’ve already broken a few laws by helping you all in your previous cases. At this point, it hardly makes a difference.”

* * *

_Before the conversation can go any further, Goro summons Robin Hood by ripping his mask off, but he doesn’t attack the Black Mask, not yet, “I’m not going to listen to you anymore. Not after what happened last time."_

_Black Mask hums, looking over the persona, “You’re a quick learner, I see. Interesting. But you won’t learn much more if you continue to hesitate.”_

_“Hesitate?” Goro asks rhetorically, “I’m hesitating because of what happened to Masafumi! He’s in a coma now and I barely know whether he’s actually committed a crime or not!”_

_Black Mask huffs, “He got what he deserved.”_

_“And how can you be so certain of that?”_

_“Because,” Black Mask takes a step back from Goro, “I’m the one who made him do it.”_

_Make him do it? How was it even possible? Did the Black Mask actually know him? Or did he do something to his Shadow before Goro got here? “How could you possibly have made him kill?”_

_Black Mask hovers one hand over their mask, while the other lands on the tip of their mask, “It wasn’t my intention, but I had to kill two birds with one stone. Masafumi’s father would’ve interfered with my boss’ work had he won the election, and Ikumi’s mother is a defence attorney who’s threatened many of our clients with legal action and needed to be taught a lesson… hurting her daughter would’ve been enough to send a message, but I never expected Masafumi to kill her under my spell.”_

_They’re lying again, Goro’s certain of it, only trying to get in his way now for who knows what reason. There’s no way someone could force a person to kill another by just talking to their subconscious mind, it’s a ludicrous idea._

_But if Goro could drive Masafumi into a coma, then the possibility wasn’t so farfetched. There's still so much he needs to learn about this place, but there are more pressing issues at hand, one's that anger Goro, “Who… who are you? Who the hell do you think you are to toy with people’s lives like this?!” Goro shouts, his confusion and doubt slowly becoming replaced by rage._

_“I’m nobody important,” Black Mask insists in a calm tone, “Just someone trying to enact justice like you. My methods aren't conventional, but as long as I know that the ends will justify the means, I'll do what I can to reach my goal."_

_“Killing innocent people can’t be justified!” Goro shouts, and points at them. Slowly and without him noticing, the colours of his uniform grow darker, and the cut and style of it changes as well, “if you’re not going to tell me who you really are, then I guess I’ll have to find out for myself, even if it means fighting you on my own. Persona!”_

* * *

The Phantom Thieves are baffled when they return to the Pyramid and find the two doors that previously blocked their path to be open. It’s only when they reach the third door that Futaba’s Shadow self suddenly appears behind them to give them an explanation.

She points over to Crow, bringing all attention to him once more, “I appreciate what you did for Sojiro. But this changes nothing in regards to myself.”

Instead of answering her, Skull steps in, “But you totally just opened more doors for us! Ain’t that some sorta change?”

Futaba’s Shadow shakes her head, “I’m still going to die here. Whether you’re closer to stealing my treasure or not doesn’t change that. It’s what I deserve, it’s why trying to stop you is pointless.”

Skull tries to argue back, but she disappears once more and doesn’t give him the chance, “Dammit, we gotta steal her treasure, and fast. There’s no way she killed her mom!”

Crow steps towards him, “She didn’t. Ishiiki is another one of Black Masks victims, the evidence seems to point to that much at least. I hardly think she has anything to do with it.”

Joker opens the door to the next chamber, and everyone follows after him, Skull remaining in the back where he cautiously observes Crow, who’s right in front of him as they walk. They move through the Palace mostly quietly from there, the only noises they make coming from their battles with different Shadows or from Queen and Crow who try to help them navigate through the various puzzles and traps set out by Futaba.

According to Joker and Queen, few of these Shadows were weak to Robin Hood’s spells, and quite a few of them were strong against curse or bless skills, so he ends up staying in the back with Skull and Panther while the other four took down the Shadows they faced, occasionally jumping in and throwing out an almighty attack when one of the others ran out of stamina.

Eventually, it’s Panther who breaks the silence while they’re in a safe room, bringing up the topic on everyone’s mind, “Crow, have you met Futaba before? Is that why she opened the doors for us?”

Crow shakes his head, leaning against the back wall of the room with his arms folded, “I knew of her before any of this, and she had contacted me and asked me for a favour regarding her uncle… Perhaps she believes in someway she owes me a favour, and this was her way of repaying that.”

Queen takes a sip of coffee from the thermos Joker offered her before, replenishing her strength, and offers her own insight, “We already theorised that she’s barely able to control this Palace, even if it’s her own. Perhaps whatever is really keeping her here somehow appreciated what you did… although we will only know once we take the treasure.”

“That being said, we should get back to that,” Fox adds, “We have wasted a week already, I worry we may not be able to make the deadline if we continue like this.”

* * *

_Just as Masafumi before him, Goro doesn’t remember how he got into a position where he’s fighting Black Mask. Except when he finally comes to, he realises that the Black Mask is no longer there and he's left fighting something that Robin Hood tells him is called a King Frost. He dodges its ice attack, and throws out an almighty attack at it with Robin Hood’s help, wondering whether he dreamt up Black Masks presence or whether the other had somehow tricked him and left while Goro was dazed in some way._

_There’s some confusion beyond that, and he thinks he sees a black mask when he pulls off his own instead of the red one, but when he looks down again, it’s red. At another point, it feels like he’s got a hood over his head, but when he catches a break in the fight and runs his hand over his head, there’s nothing there. Even his wrists feel heavier than they should, like something’s weighing them down, but when he brings up his hand to remove his mask, there’s nothing there._

_He’s cautious this time, putting two and two together quickly and figuring out that the King Frost was actually Fujiwara’s true self, his Shadow. He hopes there’s some break between killing the Shadow and just defeating it, otherwise he’s unsure of how to get out of this predicament._

_After multiple attacks, ones where Goro tries to hold back from doing too much damage while dodging the others attacks, the King Frost dissolves into black mist and Fujiwara’s Shadow self emerges from it, now begging on his knees in front of Goro, “Please! No more! I give up!”_

_It’s hard to tell what started this fight in the first place with parts of his recent memory gone, but Goro’s still angry enough to see this though, “Why should I?! You covered up a murder! You think I’ll forgive you or your son this easily after everything you’ve done?!”_

_Fujiwara’s Shadow shakes his head, violently “No, of course not! I’ve done something truly horrible, so please, let me live so I can repent!”_

_“Will you confess to what you’ve done? What you’ve helped your son do?”_

_“Yes! Yes!” Fujiwara’s Shadow cries out desperately, “Anything, I’ll do it!”_

_It brings a smile to Goro’s face, but it's not a real smile caused by happiness, it's a smirk brought about by his power over the Shadow, and it's anything but innocent, “Go find prosecutor Niijima and tell her exactly what happened. I’m sure she’ll see things through.”_

_This time, instead of dissolving into a dark puddle like before, Fujiwara’s Shadow disappears into a bright light, which goes out after a few seconds. It’s different to what Goro saw the first time around, so he hopes it’s enough not to send him to the hospital._

_He leaves, making a mental note to check in with the prosecutor in a couple days’ time._


	16. Be it God or Demon

The next few days are brutal for all of the Phantom Thieves, old and new members alike, as they try to get through Futaba’s exhausting Palace over three consecutive days while dealing with the heat. Eventually they get to the last door standing in their way, behind which the treasure lay, according to Morgana.

With the Palace infiltrated, all that’s left is sending out the calling card, which, after everyone leaves, Goro ends up discussing with Ren and Morgana up in the attic. While Ren couldn’t care less about how the other two saw him and decides to change into pyjama’s only to lie down on his bed, Morgana sits on his table near the stairs while Goro stays leaning against the wall between Ren’s bed and desk, “I believe that even if we slide the calling card under her door, we may still face the problem of her door being locked in the Palace itself.”

Morgana shakes his head, “I don’t think the calling card would be enough either in this case… but she seemed to trust you more than us in that Palace though.”

“I think that’s a one-time deal,” Ren says with closed eyes, “He solved a case for her, so she helped him. Eye for an eye.”

Goro agrees and hums, “Mhm, and if her room is specifically her ‘tomb’ in her cognition, then I doubt more favours of that kind would open the door… Boss may be the person closest to her and yet, how I understand it, even he can’t enter her room easily.

Ren sits up on the bed and stretches out his arms, his back cracking at the movement. It makes Goro wince internally, but he doesn’t let it show, “Ye-aaaah,” Ren says through a yawn, “We’ll have to force our way in.”

Morgana and Goro both agree, “That seems to be the case, yes,” Goro says and pulls out his phone to check the time. There’s a missed call on there from an unknown number, but if there’s only one call from a few hours ago then he’s sure the person can wait a little longer, “I should get going now.”

“You won’t stay?” Ren pouts, and Morgana gags.

“If he’s staying-,” Morgana pounces off of the table, “-then I’m leaving.”

The cat prances over to the stairs but Goro quickly calls out for it, “Morgana, you’ve no reason to leave, as I won’t be staying.”

“Aww boo,” Ren objects, but he doesn’t put up much of an effort himself and lies back down again, “Why not?”

“I still technically work for the SIU, and I assume they’re expecting me to show up at least once every two weeks with some progress, perhaps even more often now that I have some more time off with the holidays and have reduced the number of interviews I have,” Goro explains, trying to be rational, but he does sigh, “As much as I’d rather not go there after a trip to the Metaverse that tiring…” he mutters, and when he notices that Ren’s about to speak and convince him to stay back, he bids him goodbye with a quick peck on the lips and rushes out.

The sooner they get this done, the more time they can spend with each other, uninterrupted. Goro and Ren both know this, but even when they’ve only been together for less than a week, they already miss their time alone.

The end of Medjed’s threat couldn’t come soon enough.

* * *

There’s no sign of Niijima when he gets to the courthouse, something which surprises and slightly concerns Goro, until he learns from one of her co-workers that she had taken all of her work home for the day to avoid the boiling temperatures and packed trains at rush hour. Despite not being very welcome to that household by at least one of its members, he hopes that Makoto may be just be tired enough to not interrupt either of their work. He’d rather not use the one evening he planned on working this week wasting his time by talking to the police. If anyone had something, it’s Niijima.

He swings by his apartment to grab his laptop and change out of his school uniform into something less official looking, since he doubted Niijima would ever comment or notice the change of attire, then heads straight for the apartment.

When he rings the doorbell, he’s greeted by Nijima, who is, as usual, in her work clothes, “Akechi-kun? I didn’t expect you to come by here… is something wrong?”

Goro shakes his head and smiles, “On the contrary, Niijima-san. I was hoping to get some work done regarding our case, but you were nowhere to be found… I hope this isn’t too much of an intrusion, but your co-workers told me I’d find you here,” he glances down at the cup holder in his hand which carried two cups of their favourite coffee, “I convinced Boss to make me two coffee’s for takeout, perhaps that could persuade you to let me in?”

Niijima sighs deeply, but nevertheless she takes the coffee’s and opens the door wide enough for Goro to come in. As he plans on staying for longer, he respectfully removes his shoes and this time Niijima doesn’t stop him. After he closes the door, he notices the sound of a shower running in the background, and dreads to think of her reaction when she walks out in that compromising way only to find her least favourite detective sitting in her dining room. Because of this, he chooses to sit furthest away from the corridor, facing away from the bathroom door.

Niijima sets down his cup in front of him and her own next to her laptop while Goro busies himself with readying his work station. It's nowhere near as warm as it should be, but Boss' coffee is good enough to drink at any kind of temperature. They both take a note of that when they each take a sip, but instead of commenting on it, Niijima moves on to the matter at hand, “Does any of this mean you’re any closer to identifying who the Phantom Thieves are?”

“Oh… no,” Goro sets his empty briefcase down on the ground next to him, “I’ve come to the conclusion that pursuing that end is pointless. My main concern has always been uncovering the true culprit behind the mental shutdown cases, and it continues to be that.”

“Do you have any suspects in that case?”

He’s prepared for that question, ready to answer it, though he’s hesitant to bring up one of his suspects, “I have… some, yes, but you must understand that this is only based on circumstantial evidence at best, so please, do not think that I am pursuing these leads in detail,” He reaches towards a file and opens it up, “The first is Sakamoto Ryuji, a student at Shuujin Academy who had some violent history with Kamoshida Suguru. This information is purely based on rumours, but supposedly he was to be expelled by Kamoshida himself until the PE teacher had a change of heart,” he flips over the page to his next suspect, “after that, there is Takamaki Ann, also a student at Shuujin Academy and a friend of Sakamoto’s. She was being blackmailed by the PE teacher into a relationship with him, and since he confessed to his crimes, he stopped abusing her,” he looks up at Niijima, “Thoughts so far?”

“These are both related to the Kamoshida case, something clearly enacted by the Phantom Thieves, and yet you’re insisting you’re not investigating them?” Niijima cocks an eyebrow.

Goro understands the confusion and explains quickly, “I’m not looking to seek evidence against the Thieves so I can claim them as my latest arrest, but I believe that if their methods are similar to the true culprits, then the one causing the mental shutdowns might be among them. It's not ideal, and obviously the hypothesis means I'm only investigating the individuals who may be Phantom Thieves as opposed to widening my search, but it's the best lead I have,” he takes a sip of his coffee before moving on,

“Next, as you might expect, there is Kitagawa Yusuke, former pupil of Madarame, who, as we all know now, abused him, so I doubt I’ll have to explain my reasoning for him…” he hesitantly flips back over to his first page, “Moving on… there is Amamiya Ren, a new transfer to Shuujin Academy, one with a criminal record. He’s friends with all of the suspects and he’s gotten in trouble with Kamoshida in the same way that Sakamoto did… this I know for certain.”

“Wait…” Niijima reaches for the file and brings it closer to look at the photo, in this case, Ren’s mugshot, “This is the boy I saw you with on Twitter, and you’re suspecting your friend now?”

Goro falters briefly, “Uh… actually _now_ it would be my boyfriend… and I do. I do not wish to remain biased in this case, and if there’s even a small possibility that he’s connected to the Phantom Thieves, or worse, the culprit, then I must consider him as much of a suspect as anyone else…” he trails off, and hesitantly leans forward, “Which brings me to my last main suspect…” while the file is still in her hands, he flips over to the last page, reciting the key points from memory, “Niijima Makoto… Shuujin student and council president, as well as sister of Niijima Sae who leads the case against the mental shutdowns culprit. Shuujin’s principal had her investigating the Thieves, and she dropped the investigation after befriending Amamiya and his group. I’m sorry, Niijima-san, but the circumstantial evidence points to her as much as the others, and for now, that is everything I have.”

The last part is a blatant lie, since all he needed to do to incriminate everyone is record even one of their meetings given that he now attends every one of them and should now be considered a suspect by his definition, but there’s plenty of reasons why he doesn’t want to have the rest of the Thieves arrested, even if it brought about the possibility of arresting the true culprit.

Niijima is speechless, and by the movement of her eyes, Goro can tell she’s speed-reading through his detailed file on her sister. He tries to add in one final point, but even now he's not sure if she's listening to him, “Other minor suspects include Mishima Yuuki, the Shuujin student who runs the Phan-site and former abuse victim of Kamoshida’s, as well as Suzui Shiho, also a fellow student at Shuujin Academy and abuse victim, although Mishima seems to only have a connection to Amamiya and Sakamoto while Suzui only has a connection to Takamaki and Sakamoto.”

He doesn’t think he needs to get into the fact that he knows for certain neither of them are Phantom Thieves, especially since Niijima is still processing the accusation against her sister.

Calmly, she closes the file, sets it down, then slides it back over to Goro, “I… was actually worried something like that may be the case. Makoto has changed since she started talking to that group, I wondered what brought about that change and could only come to one conclusion. But I can assure you, she cannot be the culprit. She would’ve been only 15 when the mental shutdowns started, and I don’t think any 15-year-old is capable of that.”

This time, it’s Goro’s turn to cock an eyebrow, “I became a detective at age 16 with no prior training and help only coming from you. If I can do that, then I’m sure a 15-year-old could become a murderer, not to mention, she’s my oldest suspect so far. Do you think someone could be forcing her into this?”

Niijima shakes her head violently, “No, I would’ve noticed if something like that was happening.”

“Are you quite sure about that?” The shower turns off, and Goro turns to a whisper, “You’re not home that often after all, I should know since most nights you're working in the courthouse with me… that being said, none of my suspects seem to be under intense vigilance, so it is a possibility for each one of them to be a culprit… which is why I will be trying to integrate myself with that group and learn more now that Ren and I are together,” there’s movement coming from the bathroom, and Goro knows his time is up, “We should discuss this at a later time, however. I’m sure your sister wouldn’t hesitate to warn the others that I suspect them. She is friends with them, after all.”

* * *

Makoto ends up doing them both a favour and completely ignores Goro's presence, instead bidding her sister goodnight and locking herself in her bedroom. Goro refuses to bring the topic back up despite that, considering that she could very easily listen in on their conversations through the door, and instead, he listens to Niijima’s own theories regarding the case.

When she’s done, they both quietly work on their case files, occasionally helping each other with spelling but not going into more detail on their individual cases than necessary.

Despite the tension of their previous conversation still in the air and the quiet that followed, Goro enjoyed spending the evening at the Niijima household working on case files more than he does doing the same thing at home. If given the chance, he’d like to repeat the exercise, though he doesn’t think Makoto would appreciate it all that much.

The mixed pleasantries come to an end when his phone begins to ring again, and Goro’s reminded of the previously missed call. He frowns and stands up, “I may need to take this…” he explains and leaves the apartment, only slipping his feet into his shoes without actually tying them. Once he closes the door, expecting Niijima to open it back for him once he’s done, he answers the phone, “Akechi here, how can I help you?”

The voice that comes across is that of a male, and it’s one he’s sure he’s heard before, if not in person then certainly on TV, “Detective Akechi, I apologise for such a late call. I don’t believe we’ve formally met, however, a colleague of mine has informed me that you’ll help anyone who asks for help, is it true?”

 _If it’s something worth helping with_ , Goro thinks but doesn’t say out loud, instead he tries to make his fake smile come across the call, “Of course, it is my duty, after all. How may I assist you?”

“It is not a matter I wish to discuss over the phone like this,” the man says, “I’d like to discuss my situation in my office as soon as possible.”

There’s no chance he’ll be free tomorrow if the Thieves are planning to send the calling card out, and the two days afterwards were most likely a no-go as well… though the way the man spoke made it seem urgent, and Goro didn’t want to gain a new reputation for being lazy and dismissive, “I may have some time off tomorrow evening, if that works? But before I go, I will need a name and an address of course.”

“I am representative Shido Masayoshi, and you will be able to locate my office in the Diet Building. I’ll make sure that security knows to let you in.”

* * *

_Unlike Masafumi, his father ends up confessing to everything during a live interview, one that makes the morning news. It’s what Goro ends up watching on his commute to his school, and while he’s partially content that the truth is out now along with all the evidence needed to convict them both, he’s not entirely happy with the situation. Why should he be? Ikumi is still dead, he still knows nothing about the murder of his mother as that damned butterfly had promised him, and what’s worse, he now knows of a serial killer that only he could know about, and no one would listen to a nobody like him. Not when his argument is that he stepped into some LSD induced nightmare of a train station and had some stranger help him with both Fujiwara's by using magic._

_Niijima would mostly likely take credit for the case, as she should since she’s the one leading it and the one who tipped him off, but it still leaves a bitter taste in his mouth that his work won’t be appreciated by anyone._

_It remains that way until suddenly his picture shows up on the news as well, along with his name which is said by the newscasters, “…according to the leading prosecutor on this case and representative Fujiwara himself, the police were heavily involved and hid the evidence in regards to the murder themselves, and it is thanks to the persistence of this young man, Akechi Goro, that the politician, as well as the officials responsible are now being tried for accessory to murder.”_

_How could they have possibly known that? Moreover, that wasn’t even the whole truth, Niijima was at least partly helpful… if not mostly… then, was it possible that Niijima was the one who told the media in the end? Why would she do something like that? She barely even knew him._

_Still baffled, he notices the looks he’s getting from the other passengers, and whispers about him as well, asking whether he was the same person as shown on screen. He bows his head, feeling a little awkward by the sudden and unexpected attention, and when he reaches his stop, he runs out, clutching tightly onto his bag._

_As he nears his school, more and more people seem to spot him, and it only gets worse when he reaches the school. There’s reporters and camera’s everywhere, barely being shut out through the gates, and he knows there’s no way he’s going to make it inside his school building without being spotted._

_“I am so dead.”_

_It’s even further confirmed when his phone blows up with numerous messages and calls, some from his foster parents, and some from unknown numbers… but since when did people know his private number? Oh, like an idiot he probably posted it on some kind of easily accessible social media. Some of them ask for interviews, some for job offers… others sound a little stalker-ish and he has no idea how to react to that._

_It’s not normal, this couldn’t be normal._

_How could Niijima have made him so famous in the space of a few hours?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I mention I love cliffhangers and keeping everyone in suspense? :p


	17. Fateful Encounter

The hallway leading to Futaba’s room is too small for comfort when the Thieves are left standing outside of it waiting for her to open the door. Instead of replying, she ends up texting both Ren and Goro, telling the thief that she can’t let them in while frantically telling the detective to use his magical police powers to throw them out of the house for trespassing.

While Makoto and Ren try to contact Futaba, Goro’s phone keeps on buzzing, something that Ryuji, who stands next to him, takes notice of, “Uh, you got work or somethin’? Futaba ain’t letting us in so maybe we could try another day if you’re busy.”

Goro shakes his head and unlocks his phone to read the messages, “It’s Alibaba who’s contacting me in the first place.”

“What’s she saying?” Ann asks.

“She wants me to arrest all of you for trespassing,” Goro informs the group, and immediately after he rats her put, some kind of shriek can be heard from the other side, “Ah, I suppose she didn’t want me to tell you that.”

Loud footsteps can be heard coming from the other side of the door, until it swings open, revealing Futaba herself with her arms stretched out and eyes tightly closed. It makes Makoto gasp and jump herself, being closest to the door, and she takes a couple of steps back while Futaba shouts at them, “If you’re not gonna leave then fine! Take my heart! Just do it now!”

The group glances between each other awkwardly, and Futaba, with her whole body shaking, looks up wearily, “S-so… w-what are you w-waiting f-f-for? Just do it already!”

“This…” Yusuke tries to answer her first, “we don’t steal hearts literally, at least not in the real world. We’ll need to go back into your cognition to do that.”

It takes Futaba no time at all to turn around and slam the door shut again, surprising everyone but Yusuke, who remains completely unfazed.

“Oh… she went back inside,” Yusuke mumbles unhelpfully, “Will the door in her cognition be open nevertheless?”

“’Door in my cognition’?” Futaba repeats on the other side, this time her voice doesn’t waver as much as it did before, and it seems like she’s abandoned texting any one of the Phantom Thieves.

“Yeah!” Makoto begins to explain, “You see, we steal hearts by going into the cognitive world. Oh, the cognitive world is-.”

“The physical manifestation of my subconscious thoughts, yeah I know,” Futaba says dismissively, “Is that why you made me go through all of that?”

The whole group is surprised by how much the girl seems to know, all except for Ren, who, as usual, appears to be completely laid back about the situation. It’s Ryuji who voices their bewilderment, “How do you know all of that?”

Makoto steps in, “Maybe we should leave answering that until after we steal her treasure? It’s what we should be focussing on the most right now. Morgana, what do you think?”

The cat steps over to the door and puts on of his paws on it, humming, “Well… she did open it for us out here, and she seems to be talking to us normally now instead of texting, so it might work. We risk a lot if we’re this uncertain though.”

Listening to the conversation more than engaging in it, Goro slowly makes his way over to the door and presses his hand against it, then leans forward, “Allow me to try then… Futaba, you are the one who wanted the Thieves to steal your heart in the first place, but for the time being, it is not possible with you rejecting all of us like this.”

There’s a short silence before she answers, “W-why? Why do I need to let you guys in?”

Ren steps forward as well, standing next to Goro, “Because your other self told us that if you don’t open the door yourself and let us into your room, then we won’t be able to steal your treasure.”

“O-okay…” Futaba calls out, voice faltering once again, “B-but first tell me how you do it! Explain!”

Goro and Ren take a step back, and this time it’s Ann who explains, “We use this app on our phone, it lets us travel to your cognition.”

“A-and that’s why you asked me about m-my keyword, r-right?” Futaba recalls, “O-okay…” they hear her exhaling and inhaling deeply on the other side, “Okay, okay, okay, okay, I-I’m opening the door now…!”

This time she opens the door far more slowly, though when the Thieves finally get inside, she’s nowhere to be seen. It hardly takes them long to figure out she’s hidden in the closet, and they collectively sigh when they realise how much this might end up taking them.

“I think it’s okay now,” Ren comments when none of their coercing manages to get her out, “She knows we can enter her room now, and we’ve seen her already,” he glances over to Ryuji who’s closest to the closet, “You have the calling card, right?”

Ryuji pulls it out of his shorts, holding it between his index and middle fingers. The edges are a little crumpled, and one of them is bent out of shape. Without the need for further prompts, Ryuji slides the card in the spacing between the door and the wall. They know she’s got it when he lets go of the card, and it disappears inside, “You sure this’ll work?”

Morgana jumps onto Futaba’s unmade bed, “I’ll make sure she reads it, you guys get ready to go once I come back, okay?”

Makoto helps usher everyone out of the room, with Goro leaving it last, “We’re going to steal the treasure today?” He asks her and she nods.

“We might as well, we know exactly when she’ll read the card anyway,” she explains, walking out behind Goro while leaving a gap in the door large enough for Morgana to make his escape later, “You’re not busy later, are you?”

There’s that politician he made plans with in hopes that they’d be stealing the treasure the next day, unaware of just how quickly the Thieves would be able to deliver the card… still, it’s in the evening and they’ve got plenty of time until then, and he’s more than used to faking his true feelings for the press.

* * *

The Palace is swarming with Shadows after the Thieves get past the door, and they’re all on high alert. Unlike Kaneshiro’s Palace, it’s much harder to get past the Shadows here, especially when they’re all trying to conserve energy for the possibility that Futaba won’t let her treasure get stolen so easily.

Joker, as always, stays at the front, pulling the masks off Shadows before they can attack them and shouting commands to his team, Queen, Panther and Fox, while Mona, Crow and Skull make sure they’re not ambushed from the back mid-fight. It’s rough, and even with his experience, Crow struggles to keep up with all of this.

When the coast seems to finally be clear at the entrance leading to Futaba’s treasure, Joker strides inside with the rest of the Phantom Thieves into the dark tomb. The door closes behind them, leaving them in them in complete darkness. The lightning on the ground does almost nothing to better their field of view, “How we meant to find the treasure like this?!” Skull shouts, and Queen immediately shushes him.

“Skull! We’re still surrounded by Shadows, remember? Don’t alert them!” She shouts at him in a whisper.

“But I-.”

Mona cuts him off, “Skull’s right, it’s impossible to see anything in here… but I can feel it. It’s… Reaaally close by.”

Crow doesn’t need to see Mona to know that the cat’s practically vibrating from the feeling, voice alone giving him away, “We should leave searching for the treasure to Mona then, right, Joker?”

“Right,” Joker confirms, but before Mona can begin his search, the entire room shakes and a distant, yet feral screech is heard by all.

“W-what was that?” Panther asks.

“It sounded like-,” Fox begins, but he’s cut off by more shaking and even more screeching.

The screeching gets louder and louder, until suddenly the roof above their heads is pulled off, the sudden light temporarily blinding them all.

Crow, just as everyone else, shuts their eyes and looks away, but when his eyes no longer hurt, he lifts out his arm in the direction of the fake sun, while trying to locate what exactly had made that noise.

The creature, a sphinx with wings and a human head, claws at them, but there’s not enough space in the hole it’s made to truly hurt them. There’s enough force however to break down the walls getting in their way, until there’s nothing left. Debris begins to fall around them, although one of their teammates seems more focused on the monstrosity before them than the imminent danger.

“What the fu-!” Skull’s shouts are cut off when Crow tackles him at the last minute, saving him from a falling rock. Skull looks like he wants to shout at him now, but when he hears and sees the rock crumbling where he previously stood, his jaw is left open, “Uh… wow, thanks man.”

Crow quickly gets to his feet, pulling Skull up with him, “Not the time, Skull. Concentrate on the task at hand.”

“Easy for you to say!” Panther shouts back at him, Carmen already called forth and throwing balls of fire at the flying creature. None of them hit, “I can’t land anything! What is this?!”

“FUTABAAA!”

It's the one thing Crow can make out through the screeches of the sphinx. Upon closer inspection, and now that his eyes were back to functioning fully, he tries to make out the face of the human at the distance. He’s unsure if he’s seen them before, but he gets a sense of recognition, and through deductive reasoning, figures out who it is.

“It’s a cognitive version of Futaba’s Mother… one that’s keeping her here and us away from the treasure!” Crow warns them, “She won’t go down easily.”

“I gathered as much from when she first tried to kill us. Goemon!” Fox shouts, his mask disappearing in a flurry of blue flames. His Persona blows into his pipe and sends a whirlwind of icy shards at the cognition, but the attack misses as well.

“Robin Hood!” Crow pulls of his own mask, and has the persona shoot arrows of light at the cognition, but it’s too fast and too far away for even his attacks.

“We need to bring it closer!” Queen shouts out, “Joker, what should we do?”

“Save your energy!” Joker orders them, and pulls out his gun, “Wait till it gets closer, the fire away!”

When the Thieves stop throwing spells in its direction, the cognition flies closer to them, hoping to get an attack in, but instead it’s pelted by gunfire from all sides. It screeches again, and flies up into the air, far above the clouds where no one can see it.

“Where is it?!” Panther shouts frantically.

Mona replaces his slingshot with his saber, “It’s probably preparing for some massive attack! But it’s impossible to tell when it’ll hit! I can’t see it!”

“I can’t predict when it’ll get here either!” Queen informs them, and when their last hope, Crow, shakes his head, Joker comes up with a quick solution.

“Anyone hurt?” Everyone shakes their head quickly when Joker asks, “Then take cover!”

There’s almost nothing to hide under with all of the debris blown off of the pyramid, so instead, the Thieves all brace for the incoming impact and hope it doesn’t knock them out, or worse, kill them.

The fight continues like this, with almost no hope in sight as their attacks barely seem to harm the creature when they’re able to injure it somewhat, and their health only depletes with each attack. There’s no end to the attacks, and their vision of the mission gets even bleaker when they hear Futaba’s voice, not the empty, reverberated version in which her Shadow spoke, but her own.

“W-What i-is this?!” She asks timidly, causing everyone to whip their heads back and watch her fall to the ground while literal shadows of people begin to surround her, shouting and blaming her for her mother’s death.

Queen runs over to her, tries to talk to her and help her, though little of it seems to get through, all the while the cognition tries to kill the rest of the Thieves. Its attacks change a little, and it soon becomes obvious who the intended target of those attacks is.

Joker looks over to Crow, “You can use Tetrakarn, can’t you?” He shouts over the noises.

Crow nods, “But… it’s Loki’s power, I can’t-.”

“You can do it, Crow, you held him back when you first showed him to me, right? You can do it again!” Joker reassures him, “We can’t let Futaba die here! Not when she’s vulnerable and doesn’t have a persona of her own!”

It’s logical, of course, and they can’t expect Queen to just take all the hits for them both either... but if Loki breaks out, and in her Palace no less, then they all might as well be dead.

“If you can’t control him, I’ll stop Loki!” Joker dodges the Sphinxes paw, “You know I can, I’ve done it before!”

This time, the sphinx lifts its paw and its target is clear. Without further hesitation, he watches Queen hunch over Futaba protectively, prompting him to pull of his mask once more to call forward his other persona, although his outfit stays the same, “Loki, shield her!” He throws his spell at Queen, hopefully covering them both.

The sphinxes paw lands on an invisible barrier, that breaks at the impact, but it keeps both Queen and Futaba safe.

Loki, for reasons unknown to Crow, remains completely silent, and for the remainder of the battle, not once does he try to break free of Crow’s control over him.

* * *

With Futaba unexpectedly awakening to a persona in her own Palace, and one that specialises in navigation, the fight is much easier for the rest of the Thieves. There’s more Crow wants to know about her sudden change, how it’s possible and what exactly had happened, but while he’s still panting and recovering from the fight, Futaba seems to nonchalantly make her way out with very little comment.

It results in the Palace crumbling, the Thieves nearly getting crushed in the rubble. It's yet another terrible escape from the Metaverse, with everyone landing on top of each other just outside of the Sakura household.

Goro isn’t sure who’s crotch he’s got in his face when they get back, but the sly comment that he hears as a whisper means that it doesn’t take him long to figure out, “Oh, I didn’t think we’d be in such a compromising position like this until later~”

Putting both of his hands on Ren’s hip, he shoves the other thief off of himself before anyone hears or notices how exactly they’re positioned. He’s lucky enough that everyone else is more interested in Ann throwing Yusuke off of herself, which Goro is grateful for while feeling bad that any one of them had to go through that sort of humiliation.

“So… what was the treasure?” Ryuji asks, looking pensively at the house, “We didn’t take anything.”

“The Palace started crumbling as soon as Futaba herself left,” Morgana points out.

“Then was she the treasure all along?” Ann asks.

“Perhaps…” Yusuke trails off, “Although, the circumstances were far different from any other we’ve had before. As she had awakened to her persona, it may be that she no longer had a treasure to steal.”

It’s Ren who brings forward the reason why Ryuji brought it up in the first place, “We don’t have anything to sell to Iwai now.”

“That ain’t the point!” Ryuji argues, but then begins to scratch the back of his head awkwardly, “But uh… we do kinda have two new members now, so feels like we should double-celebrate it or somethin’, y’know?”

Ann looks over to Goro, “Wait, don’t you make like loads of money?”

Goro can’t help but snort at the thought, “Sadly, no, only just enough to sustain myself. I occasionally get donations from the people whose cases I’ve solved privately, but I’ve put aside all that as savings so I can rent out a small apartment by myself.”

“We could just make hotpot in the hideout,” Ren suggests, and everyone pipes up positively at the idea.

Goro’s phone beeps, a remainder he set for his meeting, one telling him to get on the train. He pulls out his phone to get rid of the notification, “Ah, unfortunately, I may have to join you for that another day.”

Makoto and the others nod, “It’s probably for the best. I’m sure we’re all exhausted from the trip anyway… and maybe we should put off the celebrating until after Medjed is defeated. Uh, speaking of, we should probably check on Futaba right now.”

“I’ll have to leave that to you, although I’ll appreciate an update on the situation at your earliest convenience,” Goro says and turns on his heel, “good luck!” He waves them all off and disappears down the alley, walking towards the subway station.

* * *

Goro has no problems when he walks into the Diet building, but the grandeur of it all messes with his head, and he regrets not having done more research into the politician in favour of a quick google search on the train. At first, it doesn’t seem to him like there’s anything outstanding about Shido Masayoshi, just your everyday politician with views that Goro didn’t entirely agree with, but something about the man seemed unjustly unnerving.

He assumes he’s been called for a possible job offer, a case to be solved that the police have been incompetent in solving, so whatever the politician may believe, whoever he may be, Goro is a detective first, private citizen second. He can question the politics of it all once he’s done his work.

After asking at the reception where he can find the man’s office, Goro stands in the elevator awkwardly, a few politicians still around late at night to give him confused looks. Having a member of the Special Investigations Unit in the building would be a reason for worry among many of them, especially when that member is famous for efficiently solving cases at a young age. He tries not to think about the looks he’s getting.

He leaves the elevator when he reaches the right floor, and looks around the doors for Shido’s name, until he gets to an office at the end of the corridor with the correct nameplate on it. He knocks twice, and when he hears the politician inviting him inside, he opens the door.

“Welcome, detective,” the politician motions to the seat in front of him, “Please, take a seat. There’s an urgent problem I have, and I fear you may be the only one who could help me with it. It is what you do, after all, isn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession: I had originally planned not to be a dick and not have a cliffhanger this time but... uh....


	18. Deal with the Devil

“I suppose it depends on what the urgent problem is,” Goro says, very careful with how he’s presenting himself, even when he takes the seat across from Shido, he slowly crosses his legs, places one hand on his knee and the other on top of his hand, keeping his back straight, “I’m here as a private investigator, not on the call of the SIU, so the extent to which I may help you is limited. Are you certain this is not something you can take to the police?”

Shido raises his eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, “The police in this city are incompetent, regardless of whether you are allowed to say such things in public, you of all people should know that. Besides, it is a rather… public matter, and yet I’d rather keep this as quiet as possible.”

While he’s refrained from outright saying how useless and corrupt the police is on TV, it’s certainly not a sentiment he’s kept secret during regular conversations. Goro nods once and lifts his hand off of the other, “Then I will do what I can to help.”

Shido reaches under his desk and into his desk drawer, Goro presumes, then pulls out a manila file which he slides over to the detective. He waits for the detective to open it up and expects him to skim through it as he speaks, “I’m certain you’ve heard of Okumura Kunikazu, the CEO of Okumura Foods, perhaps even the rumours surrounding him as of late?”

It’s something that impossible to miss, with all sorts of allegations coming up on the news, and even without that there was once a time when Goro considered Okumura himself to be the Black Mask, back when he was trying to solve a case for him, but ultimately decided that the Black Mask was most likely someone close to Goro's age, “I’m familiar, yes,” the detective summarises, “I am also aware that he is one of your campaign donors, which leads me to think that you’d like me to uncover the truth behind these allegations?”

Shido smirks at the detective, “I see the praise you get isn’t completely unjustified, but yes. Clearly you understand that I cannot run a successful campaign if I associate myself with the kind of person that the public believes he is.”

Goro feels that it’s not the entire truth, and a part of him wants to pursue that further, wants to figure out why this man is suddenly turning against one of his campaign donors. Surely, the public wouldn’t hold something like that against him if the allegations did turn out to be true? They have nothing to do with him, and these are just politics… so perhaps then it was personal, but Goro assumed that Shido was the kind of man would take offence the moment he insinuates as much.

Okumura is a case he’d been hearing about but was always too busy to look into himself, but with this, it provides him with the perfect opportunity to investigate and get paid for it, “Given the nature of this investigation, I assume you’ll want me to keep it on the downlow… in that case, if I may, I’d like to ask a question.”

“Will it help the case?” Shido asks, with just enough hints of an annoyed tone to make it clear to Goro that he was not someone who liked to have his orders questioned, without making it obvious, a talent Goro is all too familiar with.

“Yes,” it won’t, not the question on his mind specifically, but it might help him understand who he’s getting the assignment from in the first place, “I do act as a private investigator from time to time, despite my best efforts, however, my job is very heavily publicised, and while I have decided to not partake in as many interviews as before, I’ve no doubt that with the Medjed threat approaching, a lot of eyes will be on me regardless. Are you quite sure you want to risk having someone like me investigate this?”

“Someone of your particular talents can think of ways around such an obstacle, I'm certain,” Shido reaches under his desk and pulls out an unmarked envelope, which he slides over to Goro the same way he did the manila folder, “And if the incentive of possibly uncovering a massive scandal isn’t enough, then I don’t doubt that this should be.”

It doesn’t take a detective like him to figure out what’s inside the envelope, but nevertheless, Goro takes it and opens it up.

That… would definitely cover his rent for the next couple of months at least.

The whole case seems sketchy and paying him upfront in cash like this doesn’t make the feeling in Goro’s gut go away. He doesn’t exactly want to be a sell out either, but if he’s going to investigate Okumura anyway…

Then could he really be blamed for wanting to get paid properly for doing his job for once?

“I don’t usually get paid upfront like this-.”

“It’s half of what I’m willing to pay to get this sorted,” Shido interrupts him, “I expect a report by the end of next week about this case. Do you agree to these terms?”

Half?! He wouldn’t have to worry about feeding himself till the end of the year if this goes well… though just under two weeks is intense, even for him. He could just use the MetaNav to help him, perhaps even bring Ren as back up, but wouldn’t that completely compromise his ethical practice?

Some part of him, whatever part of him brought Loki about, is already shouting at him to take the money, screw ethics, and just investigate, then use the funds to get his own cases rolling.

Another part, the side of him which allowed him to use Robin Hood in the Metaverse, wants him to kindly reject the offer, only to then start his own investigation into Shido and any sketchy dealings the politician probably has.

Perhaps, just as he uses both persona’s, he could try and do both at the same time?

Finally coming to a decision, Goro closes the envelope, stands up, puts into the inside pocket of his jacket, and picks up the folder once more, “I take it I can keep this?” Shido nods soundlessly, “In which case, I accept.”

“Excellent, I’m glad we could come to an agreement.”

Without being told to do so, Goro turns around and leaves the office, air heavy with insinuations and guilt. He’d make up for it, he’ll figure out what exactly what it is Shido holds against Okumura once he's done looking into Okumura himself.

And while he’s still trying to justify his actions when walking back to the elevator, he doesn’t hear the conversation happening back in the office, Shido having dialled a particular number into his private phone.

“He accepted the deal,” Shido informs them, “as it is your plan, I’m sure you already know what to do. With this overwhelming time pressure, I’ve no doubt he’ll be making use of the Metaverse very soon.”

* * *

> **Lupin** : Futaba’s gonna be fine.
> 
> **Lupin** : She’s sleeping though.
> 
> **Lupin** : We’ll need to wait a bit till she wakes up
> 
> **Lupin** : Where did you rush off to?

It’s the only private messages Goro gets after leaving Shido’s office, and while he considers leaving his reply for tomorrow, another idea comes to mind.

> **Sholmes** : It’s confidential, unfortunately I cannot tell even you.
> 
> **Lupin** : Can you at least tell me if it has something to do with BM or PT’s?
> 
> **Sholmes** : I should hope not.
> 
> **Sholmes** : It’s a private matter.
> 
> **Sholmes:** Though I suppose everything in my life seems to somehow go back to that.
> 
> **Lupin** : …you wanna talk about it?
> 
> **Sholmes** : I’d like to come by to Leblanc, yes.
> 
> **Lupin** : I’ll wait for you downstairs then.

Despite his muscles aching and begging for him to go back home and fall into the same kind of sleep Futaba herself seems to have fallen into, Goro makes his way over to the subway station and boards a mostly empty train. He opts out of sitting down in fear that he’d fall asleep then and there, missing the stop, but he still ends up catching his head lulling downwards when his eyes shut by themselves.

What brings him back to reality is another text from his boyfriend.

> **Lupin:** You should probably know, we won’t be alone.

It’s a little disappointing, but Goro doesn’t think he’s in any position to argue given that not only does he not live in Leblanc like Ren does, but Leblanc is a café open to the public, even if it should be closed by now. He doesn’t bother replying since he’s so close by and will find out who it is that Ren’s with very soon. Even his own curiosity, a part of him he usually struggles to contain, takes a backseat and doesn’t nag at him to find out the truth immediately by asking questions.

After what feels like his longest train ride, Goro gets off at the Yongen-Jaya stop and stumbles to Leblanc, doing his best to keep to the shadows cast by the moonlight so he’s not spotted in such a poor state. He’s relieved that at this time of night, the streets are mostly empty, and those adults that are around are elderly residents of the district, and generally the kinds of people who wouldn’t be interested in someone like him.

He notices the light shining through the café even before he gets to the door, and when he tries the doorknob, he uncovers that the café isn’t locked.

Inside, Ren sits at a booth with the chessboard in front of him, although he appears to be playing by himself. At the bar sits his guest, Yusuke, who has a full cup of coffee in front of him, though judging by the lack of steam coming off of it, Goro figures he hasn’t touched the cup himself.

“Would you mind locking the door behind you?” Ren asks him without looking up, “Unless this is a short visit?”

“Uh…” Goro awkwardly glances at Yusuke, who’s too busy concentrating on the painting up on the wall. It looks almost exactly like the famed Sayuri, but there’s something about it that doesn’t seem quite right… was there always a baby in it? Goro’s hardly a connoisseur of the arts, and when it comes to Madarame he was more interested in the change of heart side of the case rather than the art fraud itself. Despite having hung there for some time, it’s not something Goro’s been particularly drawn to until now.

Ren finally looks up at him when he notices Goro staring at Yusuke staring at the painting, “I’ll take that as a no…?”

Goro shakes his thoughts away, his fatigue making it far too easy for him to get distracted, “Sorry, I was hoping to stay over, but if Yusuke and you are too busy then perhaps we could-.”

Ren begins to remove the pieces off of the chessboard so he can put them away for the night, “Oh, uh, Yusuke isn’t staying overnight… he just gets lost in thought sometimes when looking at the painting, so I’m mostly waiting for him to snap out of it. Seriously, I had to remind him to take a toilet break earlier since he’d been unknowingly drinking loads of coffee.”

Goro looks down at the full cup questioningly and points to it, “Then how come…?”

Ren shrugs, “Guess he got even more into it after he came back.”

“I wonder…” Goro turns his head and examines the painting once more. He didn’t think Sojiro would put in the money for such a nice painting to decorate Leblanc. All signs point to it being a knock-off, but even without knowing too much about the art world or painting in general, Goro feels the strong emotions put into the painting from each stroke.

How could a knock-off invoke such strong emotions? It’s not possible for this to be the real Sayuri, right?

As if reading his mind, Ren answers his questions, “It’s technically not real. It was the treasure we got from Madarame’s Palace. The Sayuri originally looked like this because it’s a painting of Yusuke and his mother… but Madarame painted over it to make it look more ‘mysterious.' I like this one more though.”

Goro hums contently, “I agree… I know little about art but even I can feel all of the powerful emotions emanating from it. I’m not surprised he’s so enraptured. Does he do this often?”

Ren nods ans stands up, walking over to the bar where he places the board, “He’s got nowhere to keep it, so Sojiro’s happy to have him come here just to see it. It’s really personal for him.”

Yusuke, who finally seems to realise that they’re talking about him in the third person, shifts off of his stool, “I apologise for taking so long. Futaba’s Palace made quite an impact on me, especially seeing her own mother like that…” Yusuke looks at the detective, “Oh, I didn’t notice you had come over here. Am I getting in the way?”

There’s a pang of jealousy that hits Goro, if only a little, that Yusuke has at least the one thing he could look at to remind him of his mother. Looking in his own reflection is the only thing Goro has left from his own mother, his eyes and hair similar to hers from what he could remember of her. The police and social services didn’t even give him the chance to go back an uncover a single photo of her after someone had taken her life.

He’s gripping his fist tightly, and only realises that he’s doing it when Yusuke asks his question. He can’t blame Yusuke for thinking this, and the other definitely doesn’t deserve for the detective to lash out at him, so he relaxes his hand and fakes a smile, “Of course not, I understand… more than you might think actually.”

“Oh?” Yusuke asks, but it’s a subject he barely wants to share on his best days with someone he’s close to, let alone when he’s beyond exhausted and in front of one of his key suspects.

“Ah, perhaps I will explain another time.”

“Very well,” Yusuke turns to Ren, “Thank you, Ren, I think I’ll leave now, but I will see you both soon, yes?”

Ren nods, “I’ll text everyone when Futaba wakes up,” Ren walks Yusuke to the door, with Goro moving out of the way. He opens, then locks the door after the artist, then turns back to his boyfriend, “You’re staying overnight then?”

“If you do not mind…”

There’s more to it than just feeling bad for running off with no explanation. The conversation Goro had with Shido and the deal he made left a bad taste in his mouth, and he’s got no doubt that if left alone for the night, he’d try to stave off sleep in fear of the nightmares. It’s silly to think that Ren could protect him from them, but there’s no harm in trying it out.

“It was a last-minute decision, so I may need to borrow your clothes,” Goro realises when he knows that the only things he has with him are the clothes on his back and files he received from Shido.

Ren smiles, and takes Goro’s empty hand into his own, “Hey, you know I’d do anything to get you into my pants,” he says suggestively, and it actually makes Goro smile. He blames not being able to cover it up immediately on the fatigue.

“That barely even works,” Goro points out while he lets the other lead him up into the attic, “I suppose it’s better than what I expected.”

“Which is?”

“Something about preferring to see me without any clothes,” Goro mumbles without coming up with something clever, “And don’t try and pretend like that didn’t go through your mind as well.”

The attic fills up with the sound of Ren’s chuckling, “Oh, honey, I’m never gonna deny anything like that. But…” his tone slowly becomes a bit more serious, “I’m also trying real hard not to make you actually uncomfortable, so take as me trying to test the waters?”

There’s a part of Goro that wants to chew him out for insinuating that he’s so fragile… and yet it’s not something he really wants to press on anyway. When was the last time someone actually cared about how he felt anyway?

He ends up nodding, and sets the file in his hand on the table near the stairs, “Of course, but I’ll let you know if something you do does actually make me feel uncomfortable…” his attention turns to the small bed in the corner of his room, a topic he knew would come up once he’d decided to stay over, “That being said… uh…”

“We can share,” Ren catches on, “And if not, I have a spare blanket and I can sleep on the couch.”

Goro shakes his head, “No, no, I don’t mind sharing, and it would feel wrong to kick you out of your own bed. Aha, I suppose we may have to, uh, be rather close then…” he says awkwardly at the realisation. A relationship and everything that comes with it shouldn’t make him feel this embarrassed, and yet he considers that maybe fighting the Black Mask on his own may have been easier than this.

No, it definitely wasn’t. At least here he has Ren to reassure him and make him feel comfortable every step of the way, “We can just turn our backs to each other. Goro, I’m not gonna force you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, alright? I’m ready to take things at your speed, okay? So, if it’s gonna take ten years for us to so much as cuddle in bed, then I’ll wait those ten years.”

Goro shakes his head, “It’s not going to take that long… I… want to, uh, do… _that_ …”

This time, Ren’s back to his usual self and ends up grinning at Goro’s awkwardness, “ _Do what_ , Goro? I can’t possibly know unless you’re clear.”

He considers being petty, considers just turning around and falling asleep on the couch, but it would defeat the entire purpose of this trip to begin with, “…cuddle,” he mumbles.

“Huh? I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear that,” Ren continues to tease him.

“I said ‘cuddle’ you idiot,” Goro says in a frustrated voice, “If you’re really going to play games like this then I’d much rather sleep on the couch. Or better yet, the booths downstairs.”

“I don’t think Boss would appreciate having some bird sleeping in his café. He barely tolerates Morgana as is,” Ren smiles and Goro heads right for the stairs. Ren catches him by the wrist, “Okay, okay, I’ll stop!” He says through laughter, “Just please stay and cuddle with me, alright?”

* * *

_His foster parents don’t seem too pleased with having so much media attention on him, and to little surprise he’s threatened with getting kicked out unless he manages to take control of the situation. There’s no way he can, not when there’s more to the case than just solving one case._

_With all of the fuss around the school, the principal threatens to kick him out as well, or more specifically, heavily insinuates that his life would be a nightmare at school if he stayed there after brinigng bad rep to the school. He knows he’s not to blame, but it seems like anyone with any knowledge of his past is quick to throw it aside._

_Niijima doesn’t know much either. She admits to giving him credit for the case, but she’s never seen media attention like this. She’s still kind enough to offer him legal advice on his situation, and advice in general, as well as temporary stay on the couch at her apartment while he sorts out his new life._

_In a sense, he’s grateful that the family and the school reject him so thoroughly, it makes burning his past and hiding it from the public all the easier, and once he gets himself emancipated per Niijima’s suggestion, he begins his life as Detective Prince Goro Akechi, building himself a career from there. It's not the kind of life he ever expected to have, and it doesn't go without hardships and stress, but at least with some donations from wealthier clients he can live on his own terms. Between all of the work he miraculously gets a scholarship to an elite school in the city, one which let him do his job and attend the school tuition-free so long as his marks stayed up._

_The public again surprises him when almost no one asks him about his past, with some speculation going around though never any direct questions, and even interviewers focusing more about his current life than his previous one._

_He tries to stay away from the Metaverse for as long as possible, in fear of both meeting the Black Mask once more and of his own power. Nothing had happened to Masafumi’s father as far as he’s aware, but even three months later Masafumi himself is still in a coma after what Goro did._

_However, the Metaverse and all of it’s secrets are all too tempting, and when he’s stumped on one particularly difficult case about the missing wife of a CEO, he ends up going back once again. Then another time when the dots on a string of murders don’t completely connect. Then again whenever he thinks he’s getting closer to the truth about the murder of his mother._

_It continues for half a year with no explanation, no one to guide him and surprisingly, no run ins with the criminal known only to him as the Black Mask. It’s a case he ends up working with Niijima on the side as well, until it becomes far more prominent and becomes his main focus._

_It’s only then that he wakes up one day inside a blue prison cell with two child wardens at the doors of his cell and a man with a long nose sitting at a desk in the middle of the room._

_“Ah, it seems like you have finally joined us. Observer, welcome to my Velvet Room.”_


	19. If It's Not Too Much

Waking up before Ren, Goro considers his plan for the day while still in bed. Now that he’s well rested, he needs to start his investigation into Okumura, so he reaches over to his phone lying on Ren's shelf to check the time. It’s still early enough in the morning for him not to need to rush out, so he takes his time to check through all of his notifications.

He catches himself before he groans so he doesn’t wake up Ren when he finds out that today was to bring another heat wave. His apartment wasn’t very well air conditioned so there’s little chance he’d be able to focus there. Maybe he could bring his laptop with him to Leblanc, hide out in Ren’s attic and begin some research there? Hopefully Ren wouldn’t mind him taking up his private space so much.

Ren barely moves when Goro gets out of bed, and he seems to still be sleeping by the time Goro’s fully dressed in his clothes from the night before. The detective makes sure to leave a note explaining how he’ll be coming back in case Ren woke up before he got back. Even Sojiro hasn’t made his way down to the café this early, saving Goro from the awkwardness of explaining how he ended up in Ren’s bedroom. Did Ren even tell Sojiro? Would he even care? He doesn’t take Sojiro for the kind of person to be bothered by this sort of thing, but as Goro knows all too well, looks can be deceiving.

The streets aren’t too busy when he slips out of the café, and luckily for him it’s early enough in the day that the sun doesn’t burn down on his head and the air is still relatively light. With any more luck, he’d get to his apartment, shower, change, grab all the things he needs and gets back to the café before noon.

The train is already busy, full of business men and regular employees on their daily morning commute to work, and it’s still morning by the time he gets to his apartment. He does his best to move quickly through the apartment, taking a shower and putting on a lighter dress shirt with short sleeves and pants so that he can still look mostly formal without suffering in the heat for it. He grabs his laptop and charger, shoves it into his briefcase alongside the files on Okumura, a notepad and his pencil case, and only once he’s sure he’s got everything, he goes for the door. As an afterthought, he grabs the sunglasses he usually wore to hide his identity, but this time using them for their intended purpose.

It’s nearing noon when he leaves, and the sun is already high in the sky, so he tries to stick to the shadows cast as much as possible, moving out of the way of anyone walking in the opposite direction. There’s little to observe right now, the crowds in Shibuya pretty much the same as they always are, perhaps with the exception of some idiot wearing a vest and long-sleeved shirt in this weather. Was he unaware of the heatwave? It’s _August_.

It’s noon when he’s walking back to Leblanc, and even though he’s not rushing around anymore, he still finds himself sweating more than usual, his hair beginning to stick uncomfortably to his face, and by the time he’s walking through the now opened doors of Leblanc, he’s wondering whether the shower was even worth it.

Inside, he’s met not only with Sojiro standing behind the bar while reading the morning paper, but two girls sitting in a booth. One of them he recognises instantly; it’s hard not to when Ann’s hair stood out so much in most crowds, but he’s never seen the girl she's with before. They’re both laughing and drinking iced coffees, and when Ann notices Goro, she waves over to him, “Oh, hey Akechi! Didn’t think you’d be coming over here.”

Goro walks over to her and smiles back, and he notices Sojiro standing up to make him his regular. His stomach grumbles, loud enough for everyone else to hear, and the two girls giggle while Sojiro sighs, “I’ll make you some curry with that coffee then-.”

Goro shakes his head, “Oh no, I couldn’t-.”

“It’s on the house, kid,” Sojiro insists in his own way, “I know you won’t eat otherwise. Don’t need to have you of all people passing out in here because you’re underfed.”

He blushes at the kindness, mumbles out a thank you, and when he thinks to return to sit in his usual spot, Ann grabs his arm and yanks it down, so he sits down next to her. He yelps when he nearly falls into the girl but catches himself, “You’re not planning on ignoring us, huh Akechi?”

“W-what makes you say that?” He stutters.

Her friend rolls her eyes, “You obviously wanted to sit somewhere else, which is why Ann pulled your arm down so you'd to sit with us,” she extends her hand out to Goro, “I’m Shiho, by the way. Ann and I go to the same school.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Shiho,” he shakes her hand, feeling a little awkward to be using her first name so soon after meeting her, despite her only giving him that name, “My name is-.”

Ann and Shiho both chuckle and cut him off, “You’d have to live under a rock to not know you’re Akechi Goro at our school.”

Was he really that popular at Shuujin? Ann backs Shiho’s claim, “Yeah, after you did that interview in June someone drew your face on the blackboard at the back of the class. Even after it got wiped off, it kept coming back up the next day. People were actually kinda bummed when you said you wouldn’t be doing any more interviews for a while.”

Even though his popularity had dropped quite considerably due to the Phantom Thieves, there were still people out there who apparently did want to hear what he had to say, “That’s rather surprising. I thought the public would rather support the Phantom Thieves than myself.”

“It helps that you’re cute,” Ann says, which results in Shiho giggling and Goro blushing like crazy, “No, I mean it! Like, no one’s seen the Phantom Thieves, but they know your face, so like, since you’re cute it’s easier to believe you’re the one who’s right. I don’t know, does that make sense?”

The previous good feeling Goro got from learning that he was still popular is diminished by the revelation that it’s probably due to his looks. It’s not Ann’s fault for pointing it out, but it sounds about right and hurts even more when it’s from someone who’s also aware of how the media works, being subjected to it herself, “It does. It’s quite… insightful I suppose, if a little disappointing,” he glances down at the briefcase in his lap, “Ah… I should get back to work right now.”

He gets out of the booth and Ann grabs his wrist again, except this time she doesn’t tug down, “Wait, I didn’t mean to insult you. I hope that’s not how I came across.”

Goro reassures her by shaking his head, “Nothing of the sort, though I don’t mean to use that as an excuse to leave. I do genuinely have a lot of work I’ve missed due to, ah…” he trails off and briefly glances at Shiho who he doubts knew of their true identities, not to mention Sojiro who’s in the process of finishing up his coffee and curry, “extra-curricular activities,” he settles on that and hopes that Ann understands. He doesn’t want to leave her with a completely wrong impression, and ends up making a suggestion himself, “Perhaps we could meet up at a different time when neither of us are so busy?”

Ann lights up at the idea and let’s go of Goro’s wrist, “Yeah, we totally should! I’m free all summer, so just message me whenever, alright? But promise that you’ll actually message me, yeah?”

Goro chuckles and hears a clink behind him when Sojiro sets down the coffee and plate of curry on the bar, “Of course.”

“Oh, uh, by the way,” Ann begins, “You don’t need to really call me or anyone else by our surnames, alright? We’re pretty chill about that sort of thing.”

Goro nods, and he’s actually quite happy to comply. He’s been around the Phantom Thieves for quite a while now, so it should only feel natural, right? “I’ll try to readjust then. You… you can all call me Goro, if you prefer.”

* * *

Ren is already gone when Goro walks upstairs, though no one seems to question Goro going up there in the first place, and he’s left to assume that Ren either told everyone that Goro was coming back, or neither Ann, Shiho nor Sojiro cared at all. It’s probably for the best that Ren isn’t here to watch him work, he’s got no doubt that the other would try and distract him.

He takes a seat at Ren’s desk, pushing the coffee and plate of curry he brought upstairs to the side to make space for his laptop. Once he boots it up, the first thing he checks are the specifics of the rumours that are being told about him online. It’s been a while since he’s paid attention to Okumura, so it serves as a refresher.

One of the things that comes up is the sudden and unexpected rise in Okumura Foods stocks over the last few months, and the deeper Goro digs, the more he uncovers how the mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown incidents correlate to those unexplained rises in stock. He doesn’t think that Okumura is in fact the Black Mask and causing those incidents, he knows Black Mask wouldn’t be so stupid to leave a trail like that behind, but there’s no doubt that there’s a connection.

Could Okumura then be using Black Mask’s services to eliminate his competition? Except… what would the Black Mask be getting out of this? Money? With all the self-righteousness they paraded around, was that a possibility? It would mean that Black Mask is nothing more than an assassin, but that’s not the whole picture that Goro got.

Black Mask definitely worked for someone… so could that person actually be Okumura? Was there more of a connection between the two than possible monetary gain?

Every time Goro has a theory, even if it doesn’t pan out, he ends up writing it down on a notepad. By the time that his stomach reminds him of the curry next to the laptop, it’s already cold. Nevertheless, he takes a break to eat it and drink the cold coffee. He doesn’t want to burnout on the first day of this investigation after all.

While he’s chewing on the last piece, he registers the ring of the bell at the door downstairs, and a few seconds later, Morgana is found at the top of the stairs, “Oh, what are you doing here, Akechi?”

Goro swallows his food and sets down his plate, then closes his laptop and the notepad. The files are still inside his briefcase since he hadn’t taken them out, so he doesn’t worry about those, “Hello Morgana. I was just using Ren’s room to work on an investigation. It’s rather hot outside and since it’s a private investigation, I was hoping to avoid the police station,” he explains himself, but he’s left with an unanswered question, “Do you not normally stay in Leblanc overnight? Why did I not see you here?”

Morgana jumps up onto the table, “I stayed behind to look after Futaba for the night, but Ren reassured me there’s no point in sitting around today… but wait… how do you know I wasn’t here?” The cat tilts his head curiously.

He was wondering how much Ren had told the cat about his relationship, since Morgana always seemed to be away whenever he and Ren went up to the attic together, and unless Morgana was testing him, Goro thinks the cats just oblivious, “I was here last night. That doesn’t bother you, does it?”

There’s surprise on Morgana’s face as far as Goro can tell, “No, of course not!” Morgana says frantically, “Uh, didn’t expect you here is all… What are you doing here right now anyway? Ren’s been out the whole day.”

Goro moves his hand over to his closed laptop and taps it twice with two fingers, “I’ve been hiding away here to do some research on something I’ve been tasked to look into,” he tries to be as vague as possible, “My apartment is too warm, the police station is too crowded and the attic doesn’t get too heated during the day. I didn’t think Ren would mind.”

“I don’t,” Ren says, overhearing them when he’s walking up the stairs, “Not gonna stop me from being curious though. But you’re not going to tell me anything, are you?”

Goro shakes his head, “I can’t. Not yet, however… it’s something I’d rather not take to Niijima either, so if I do need some advice or help, you’ll be the first one to know.”

* * *

The rest of the evening, Goro keeps working on the case while Ren has his back to him while he plays retro video games. The repetitive music surprisingly doesn’t bother Goro, and he prefers it to the previous silence in the room.

The only issue is, now that he’s looked through the files and whatever he can find online, there’s little he can do. He needs some kind of access to the man’s bank statements, but he’s too profile for Goro to try and get them through favours, and he’s got little ground to get a warrant to recover them. Besides, if Okumura really is behind all of this then he can’t go to the police. He knows they’re definitely in the pocket of Black Masks boss.

There is the Metaverse, and Goro already knows Okumura has a Palace, but getting info from a Shadow with a Palace is much harder than a single person in Mementos. Last time he was there he nearly got himself killed, and while he’s certainly improved since, he knows going to a Palace on his own is a suicide mission.

He turns his head and looks over to Ren, then over to Morgana. Would they be willing to follow him inside and act as back up? Would they be fine just the two of them? He’d rather not have the others come with, and while Ren could probably keep his mouth shut he’s not sure he could trust Morgana around any of the other Thieves.

“Morgana?” Goro asks and the cat turns around, “Would you mind if I spoke to Ren alone? It’s… a rather private matter,” he tries to be as polite and unsuspicious as possible, and the cat seems to buy it. He jumps off of the couch and goes downstairs.

Meanwhile, Ren pauses his game and turns to sit sideways in his chair, “Something wrong? Or is this about-.”

“It’s about this case, yes,” Goro tells him, “I… I may need help. Would you be up to going to a Palace this weekend just with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh, over 250 kudos! Thank you all so much for your support!  
> Fun fact: In the very very first draft phase of writing/planning this, this story had 19 chapters... uh... yeah there's no way I'm ending things here with so many unanswered questions!
> 
> Side note: Atlus plz give Goro some summer clothes. The boy is dying in that sweater vest.


	20. Warfare

A few days later, Goro sits on a bench near Okumura Foods while he waits for Ren to show up, but his focus isn’t on the street or the people passing by, instead, he’s looking down at the MetaNav on his phone where Okumura’s name is bookmarked. He’s had plenty of practice to hide his real feelings whenever he’s stressed, but it’s not enough to fool his own stomach and stop it from churning.

The last time he’d been inside he’d almost been killed by the Shadows inside, and while he definitely improved over the past year, there’s another worry he has now; if he’s right about this, and Okumura is connected to Black Mask in some way, then there’s no doubt that the true culprit also knows of his Palace and may even be lurking inside.

Or maybe they’re not here at all, instead training in the gym, busy with a photoshoot, painting, or studying even during their break. He could always ask Ren if he knows what the other Thieves are up to right now, it might ease his mind somewhat.

When Ren does finally show up, he’s carrying a bag with some objects wrapped around some brown paper, but it’s difficult to make out what the exact objects are from a distance. Goro’s seen similar packaging before and knows Ren can’t just pull it out in public to show him. He’ll wait until they’re in the Metaverse for that.

When Ren gets closer, Goro stands up with his phone still in his hand and MetaNav open, “We should go to a more secluded area. I’d rather we not accidentally pull someone in with us.”

Ren agrees only with a nod and follows Goro towards the building itself. They step inside and are immediately stopped by a guard. Ren keeps his head low as not to attract attention to himself, while Goro keeps his head held high, used to acting more important than he actually is, “Is there a particular reason why you have stopped my assistant and I from entering any further?”

“Sorry, can’t allow kids in here unless you got a family badge on you,” The security guard informs him, “So unless you got that, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”

Goro sighs and reaches into his pocket, “While I do not have family here, I believe this should suffice,” he shows the guard his own badge from the SIU, “I’m sure even someone like you must’ve heard of me.”

The security guard looks over the badge, then back at Goro. His expression sours and he points to Ren, “Why’s he here then?”

“As I have said, he is my assistant,” Goro replies and he makes sure to add a hint of annoyance to his tone.

The guard remains unconvinced, “What’s your business here?”

Instead of making up an entirely different case, something Goro would be capable to doing instantly without feeling any remorse over lying to the guard, he goes down a different route, now looking him directly in the eye, “You do realise, of course, that the longer you keep someone like me here, the more likely it is that someone will spot me and wonder why the Detective Prince of all people has come here? Especially with all those nasty rumours going around. I don’t think Okumura-san would be too pleased to hear you brought attention to me when all I am here for is a simple meeting.”

The guard purses his lips, and his eyes shift briefly from the detective in front of him to the employees coming in, who, just as Goro had predicted, were beginning to stare and point in their direction. He even hears his name being mentioned a couple of times, and that seems to be exactly what he needs to convince the guard to let them through, “Alright, you can go through, just don’t bring any more attention to yourselves.”

Goro smiles and walks past the guard, further into the building with Ren quietly following. Once they’re out of the line of sight of the guard, Goro leads the other Phantom Thief into a bathroom, and once he’s sure no ones inside, he locks the door.

Ren raises an eyebrow, followed by a grin, “Oh, I didn’t know you had a thing for public bathroom sex. You should’ve told me sooner.”

Goro rolls his eyes and shows him the phone in his hand, “I’d rather not be walked in on when we’re going into the Metaverse.”

“Right,” Ren reads through the keywords, “But why did we have to walk in at all? Isn’t that going to bring attention to us? I thought you wanted to keep this on the downlow.”

“I do,” Goro says, “I wanted to avoid letting Okumura know that I’m investigating him, but unfortunately that plan fell through the moment I couldn’t find enough on him out in the open and decided to use the Metaverse instead.”

“But then…” Ren trails off, “Why alert the guard? We probably could’ve just entered his Palace from outside. You have his keywords, so what stopped us from doing that?”

To illustrate his argument, Goro pulls out his badge again, “Okumura Foods is Okumura’s place of distortion, and in reality, only those with an employees or family badge are allowed to enter. I’ve been here before and security stopped me then, except at the time I had a reason to see Okumura, so even in his cognition I was allowed to pass through. What do you think would have happened had we not done this? I guarantee you that the moment we walked away, the security guard informed Okumura of our presence. It’s not ideal, but at least now Okumura knows we can easily infiltrate his company… speaking of which, are you ready to do just that?”

Without further questions, Ren nods, “Let’s go.”

* * *

The fortress is just as Crow remembers it from a year ago, where the walls appear to be made of steel, and the Shadows inside who had not yet spotted either of them wear camo combat gear. Both Crow and Joker instinctively jump behind a wall. Silently, they stick to the walls and shadows to avoid getting into a fight, hoping to find a safe room where they can discuss everything more in depth now that they're inside.

It’s Joker who spots a door that fluctuates briefly into that of a storage closet, and the two go inside. When the safe room's distorted, there’s boxes full of ammunition and guns, but when it’s normal, all that’s inside are cleaning supplies and a few old posters used by the company on the ground.

Joker pulls out the brown packaging from the inside of his coat, revealing a pistol for himself and a laser gun for Crow, “This isn’t exactly what I expected from a CEO… how does a company turn into a fortress, exactly?”

Crow holsters the laser gun Joker gives him and provides an explanation, “Since the death of his wife, Okumura has been extremely overprotective of his only daughter. He thinks that he can use his company and the connections and money he makes from it to keep her out of harms way. That is why this is his fortress. It's a place he can use to protect his daughter.”

“You… investigated that, didn’t you?” Joker asks but he doesn’t wait for an answer, “It’s why you had that bookmarked and why you know all of this, right?”

Crow hums affirmatively, “Yes… his wife was caught up in a rather unfortunate accident where a bus driver had crashed into the limousine she was in. Okumura hired me to find out the whole truth behind it as he believed it could be a mental shutdown case, when in truth, the bus driver had simply fallen asleep behind the wheel after being put through a 48-hour work shift with no breaks.”

“That doesn’t explain how you knew about his Palace so quickly,” Joker points out.

Crow sighs deeply, “Okumura was acting strange from the start of my investigation back then, and I became suspicious of him, so I checked whether he had a Palace. When I confirmed that he did, I thought it may have resulted from some kind of desire to kill his wife, it seemed extreme enough. To an extent, I was happy to be proven wrong, but it seems like not stealing his heart only made his desires grow stronger,” he looks away, feeling some guilt over not doing more to stop Okumura from abusing his power when he had the chance.

Joker walks over to him and places a hand on his shoulder, “Goro… you didn’t even know you could do that until we showed up, right? You can’t blame yourself for this. But… do you think he’s the one controlling Black Mask?”

“Controlling?” Crow raises an eyebrow, looking back up at Joker, “I think there’s a possibility that Okumura has hired Black Mask in the past, certainly, but I never said he has any control over them beyond contract killing. Black Mask said they have a boss, they didn't say anything about not having a choice in any of this.”

Joker removes his hand off of Crow’s shoulder and goes for the door, “Right, I misunderstood. We’re just here to confirm he’s abusing his workers, right? We should get on that.”

A part of Crow thinks Joker’s behaviour is a little strange, but he also agrees that they shouldn’t waste anymore time in the safe room and get to work. He wants to finish this before Futaba wakes up, gets the Thieves a win over Medjed and destroys his reputation as he knows it.

* * *

With just the two of them, they get through the Palace quickly without getting into any unnecessary fights with Shadows. They’re lucky enough not to run into Okumura either before they get to the subterranean floors of the fortress.

Underneath it, there’s an entire weapons manufactory, where Shadows who appear to be lower ranked soldiers slave away at the machinery, trying to produce as many guns as they can while the higher ranking soldiers look on with their own weapons trained on them.

“Do you think he sees every win or loss against his competitors as an actual battle?” Joker asks in a low whisper.

“Every time there’s a major incident that occurs against his competitors, Okumura becomes richer,” Crow agrees, “While his daughter’s safety may be his greatest concern, I’ve no doubt he is also interested in making a profit from his company regardless... but if this is how he truly sees his own employees, I’ve little doubt that the rumours surrounding him are true. However, I have not seen anything that could indicate a deeper connection to the Black Mask, have you?”

Joker shakes his head.

“Then let’s keep going, at least for a little longer while we remain undetected.”

* * *

They leave the Palace without any clues leading back to the Black Mask when it starts to get late out in the real world, and instead of using the front entrance, they leave through the back.

When he looks down at his phone, Goro notices all of the notifications he got while in the Metaverse, and none of them look good. He’d set them up to alert him whenever his name came up in the media. It seems like reporters immediately caught wind of him investigating Okumura, and with his latest announcement, they’re wondering if that’s why he’s been keeping a low profile.

At least no one's caught on to the idea of him siding with the Phantom Thieves now.

He tries to open up the full articles by clicking on the notifications, but whenever he does that, an error message pops up informing him that the page no longer exists, “That’s odd,” he mutters.

“Hmm?” Ren asks, standing by his side.

Goro shakes his head and puts his phone away, “It seems like we’ve been spotted. I’m sure someone will want to interview me about this and the upcoming Medjed deadline, so I’ll explain myself then and there. I’ll try to keep you out of this.”

Ren shrugs, taking Goro’s hand into his, “My reputation is fucked anyway, you should be more worried about being seen with me than me being seen with you. But, uh, I guess you’ll be too busy tonight to come by Leblanc?”

“After that trip I could do with some coffee. I can’t stay for very long, any more than an hour may be too much,” Goro says, “I’ll be _very_ busy tomorrow.”

“An hour is more than enough,” Ren smiles at him gently, and the two walk to the station hand in hand.

* * *

The two Thieves are met with a welcoming surprise when instead of the regular customers, they find Futaba sitting on a stool in front of the bar, eating some of Sojiro’s curry, while the owner of the café himself cleans up after a busy day.

“I was wondering where you wandered off to,” Sojiro says, “Could’ve used the help, y’know.”

“Futaba?” Goro asks and she looks up, “Are you… alright?”

“Yeah?” Futaba asks with a mouth full of curry, “Why wouldn’t I be?” She swallows down her food, “Well, I guess Neo Featherman isn’t airing this season so I’m a little bummed about that.”

Sojiro, clearly confused by how normal Futaba is being around both Goro and Ren, stops wiping the counter, and while he tries to wrap his head around what’s going on, Ren goes around the bar, washes his hands and puts on his apron to make up for his absence, “Ho- wh- huh?” Sojiro settles on, “You two know each other?”

“We, ah…” Goro struggles to find an excuse for this one. Futaba’s been a shut-in since before Goro started coming to the café. There’s no reason why this socially awkward girl should know him, let alone talk to him like they've been friends for some time.

“Talked to him online,” Futaba lies for him, and she’s surprisingly good at it all things considered. Though… it’s not entirely far from the truth, “You mentioned him a bunch before, so I got curious, looked him up and found out he secretly likes Neo Featherman too. We’ve been nerding out about it on SNS since.”

She could only know that if she found his internet history… which honestly wouldn’t even surprise him in the least if she had hacked into his browser and done just that. He hopes that’s the worst thing she can lord over him… he’s pretty sure his search history isn’t too bad.

Another thought comes into his head, making him think back to those error messages that popped up whenever he tried to find an article mentioning his trip to Okumura Foods. Was that her? How did she know to do that?

He pulls out his phone to ask her about it via text to avoid posing unnecessary questions in front of Sojiro. The owner of the café gets back to working while Ren brews his coffee, so Goro sits down in his usual seat and texts Futaba, pretending that it’s work

> **Akechi:** I take it since you’re awake you’re the one who deleted any mention of me going to Okumura Foods?
> 
> **Futaba:** Ya
> 
> **Akechi:** And why did you do that?
> 
> **Futaba:** Cos your totally not secret investigation is meant to be a secret
> 
> **Futaba:** So I kept it that way
> 
> **Futaba:** Ur welcome
> 
> **Akechi:** That’s not what I meant
> 
> **Futaba:** Oh
> 
> **Futaba:** That
> 
> **Futaba:** Yeah I heard you and Ren talking about it
> 
> **Futaba:** I’ve got all of Leblanc bugged
> 
> **Futaba:** So yeah
> 
> **Futaba:** Imma actually switch off the ones in the attic
> 
> **Futaba:** Don’t wanna hear about all the nasty stuff you get up to

“Seriously?” Goro says out loud, getting Ren’s and Sojiro’s attention, “My apologies, got a surprising text from Niijima-san.”

Neither of the men behind the bar see anything suspicious about it, so they go about their business. Ren brings Goro his coffee, then goes over to the dishes while Sojiro finishes cleaning the bar.

> **Akechi:** We don’t…
> 
> **Akechi:** Never mind
> 
> **Akechi:** It's probably for the best if you left me with some of my dignity

She’s certainly skilled for a fifteen-year-old shut-in, there’s no denying that… and if she’s managed to bug the entire café, Goro wonders what else her skills could be used for.

> **Akechi:** Say, Futaba
> 
> **Akechi:** You used some sort of device to listen in on us, correct?
> 
> **Akechi:** Would you happen to have any spares?

* * *

" _Wh-… what is this?!” Goro shouts when he realises his hands are chained and his pyjamas have been replaced with tattered prison garb, “Why have you imprisoned me?! Who are you?!”_

_One of the girls at his side slams her baton against the metal bars Goro’s holding onto, causing him to reel back, “Quiet!”_

_The other one, whose voice is far calmer than that of her twin, answers his question, “You are a guest here in the Velvet Room”_

_The man with the crooked nose, sitting in the middle of the room at a desk, continues from there, “You are merely a prisoner because that is how you perceive yourself in your own mind. This place resides between mind and matter, just as the Metaverse. It has unfortunately taken us some time to have you come here due to some… unforeseen circumstances, but now that you are here, we may continue with the game.”_

_“Game?”_

_The man nods, “Yes. A game between humanity’s rehabilitation, or eternal damnation. Humanity is stagnating, and it is up to you to determine whether it should be thrown into ruin and rebuilt, or whether you are deserving of rehabilitation.”_

_Goro scoffs, the idea of it all ridiculous even by the standards of what he’d experienced over the past few months. When did people suddenly get interested in his opinion? And why should he believe that it’s so central to the entirety of mankind?_

_“Why me? What makes me so special?”_

_The man shakes his head, “In all sincerity, none of us here know. There are very few individuals who are capable of obtaining the power of the wildcard, the power to yield multiple Personas at once, and even by those standards you are special.”_

_The nicer of the twin wardens speaks up, “One with the power of the wildcard was supposed to represent either ruin or rehabilitation, and yet, you have the potential to represent both.”_

_“Yeah, it’s kinda like you’re at the centre of the universe or something,” the other twin says and frowns at him, “But don’t let that get to your head! Doesn’t mean we’re gonna treat you any different from anyone else that’s ever been here!”_

_“There were others here?” Goro asks, “You're talking about that person in the black mask, correct?”_

_The man nods, “They, of course, represent one side of the game. Another will come forth in time to represent the other. By siding with one and uncovering the truth, you, as the Observer, will determine the outcome of this game.”_

_“We cannot tell you which side to choose or give you advice regarding that,” the nicer of the twins adds before letting her sister continue._

_“But if you need questions answered about your Persona then that’s what we’re here for,” the twin says, “Of course we can just remain silent if the answer would give too much away.”_

_The man speaks up this time, “My name is Igor. I will act as consultant of sorts in regard to your journey. The two in front of you are Justine and Caroline, they shall aid you in all matters regarding Robin Hood and Loki. For now, however, that will be all.”_

_Goro’s eyes begin to droop, and while he’s got way more questions he’d like to ask, he’s falling asleep without even trying to, his body working against him._

_But then… does he even want to ask them? Why should he trust someone who’s got him jailed? Not to mention none of what they had told him made any sense._

_And yet... If that’s the cost of his Persona, of his fame and the change it brought to his life, he’ll play along._

_For now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! A few more changes that I couldn't mention before for spoiler reasons!  
> To confirm, yes, Haru's mother was around but isn't anymore (in the game there's no mention of her, just that Okumura raised Haru on his own but that's it), and of course, Okumura's Palace seems to be a little different from his original one... hmmmm


	21. The Bet

The day that Futaba finally deals with Medjed is the day of Goro’s scheduled interview, which Goro is honestly thankful for. It means not having to deal with the media twice, and the likelihood of questions over him showing up at Okumura Foods were less likely to come up.

The texts he’s getting from Ren are reassuring at least, since Goro had specifically asked him to stay behind in Leblanc. Ren’s in enough trouble as is, he doesn’t need to get involved with the media over trespassing Okumura Foods on top of everything else, though he did promise to watch the interview from his phone.

When he’s called upon, all the things that Ren had said to calm him down vanish and he’s left thinking about just how much of a disaster this interview will be. The public already started to hate him after his comments on Kaneshiro, but now that the Phantom Thieves were international heroes? He'll be public enemy number one in no time.

Any reasonable person would abandon all pride and side with them again, and why shouldn’t he? He’s one of the Phantom Thieves now after all but abandoning his stance now of all times is just going to make him seem weak in the public's eye, and every other adult he tries so desperately to impress every day. Besides, working on both sides could have its advantages in the long run.

Except he is thinking about the same person who abandoned all reason over a year ago when he didn’t stop going to the Metaverse and listened to the most likely fake promises Igor and those twins made.

The interview is a little different from his last one, it’s nowhere near as flashy and colourful as the other one, and instead of being interviewed on his own, there’s other people there, most notably, his current employer. It’s nothing too disconcerting, he doubts the media has really figured out Goro’s working for Shido, although the idea of having to lie his way through the interview right in front of the man brings back the queasy feeling.

Just why was seeing him so unsettling?

He’s not alone with the politician, however, as they’re joined by a couple of other faces that Goro doesn’t recognise. One of the interviewers leads Goro to his seat, and the interview starts soon after some mugs with water in them are placed in front of each person.

“Welcome everyone to today’s panel where we discuss the question that’s on everyone’s minds, ‘Are the Phantom Thieves just?’” The male moderator begins, “It’s a question which has been on everyone’s minds ever since our very own guest, Detective Prince Akechi Goro, brought it up after the now defamed artist Madarame confessed to his crimes as a result of the Phantom Thieves actions. So, why don’t we start with you, Akechi-kun? As I’m sure you’ve heard, Medjed’s website was hacked this morning and even now the only thing that comes up on it is the Phantom Thieves logo. Has your opinion of them changed at all?”

Goro clears his throat before answering to make sure his throat hadn’t dried up, “These comments may get me in trouble with the public, however, my opinion has not changed. As someone who has worked both alone and alongside the police, I understand why the public may be frustrated with how slow the system is, and I understand the appeal in Phantom Thieves who steal the hearts of criminals and force them to confess… that being said, their methods are completely unknown, and their power is unchecked. I still strongly oppose what they are doing.”

Now speaking to the panel in general, the moderator continues off of that, “Do you believe then that the Phantom Thieves could go rogue? It appears as though they have been doing all of their work for the greater good thus far. Is there a possibility they may use their influence and power for selfish gains?”

Just when Goro opens his mouth to answer, Shido steps in, “While these Phantom Thieves are praised for their work and the police does nothing to fight against them, they have little incentive not to do just that. Going after international hacking groups or gang members is one thing, but there is nothing in place to stop them from going after private citizens.”

Another man joins the discussion, one Goro doesn’t recognise, “What’s to stop them from going after any of us for speaking out against them in public? As Akechi-kun has said, we don’t even know how they’re doing this! Are they faking the evidence perhaps? Blackmailing their victims?”

The accusation bothers Goro more than it has any right to. He brought the topic up, so of course it’s going to come up. Regardless, he remains calm in his response, “No, through my investigation I’m led to believe that what the Phantom Thieves are doing is legitimate, as far as vigilantism goes. Everyone who they have gone after have been criminals… and if that’s the case, then I suppose the only reason why any of us should fear them is if we have something to hide.”

“And yet, you still don’t think what they do is just?” A woman sitting next to him asks, “Is that not contradictory?”

Goro shakes his head, “I do not think they would do something quite so petty as going after someone with a different opinion. I was one of the first individuals who had spoken out against them in public, and yet I have not been one of their targets. Despite that, I still believe that by stealing hearts, they are acting as judge, jury and executioner, and I disagree with them on that principal.”

Throughout the rest of the panel, his phone buzzes like crazy, and there’s no doubt that the rest of the Thieves have started to watch this too. It’s not like Ren didn’t expect this outcome.

At least everyone seems to have forgotten about his appearance in Okumura Foods, since the place is never brought up.

* * *

As he leaves the TV station, a black, unmarked car pulls up on the street in front of him and rolls down the window. Behind the wheel is a man in a suit with sunglasses, and without turning his head he speaks to the detective, “Your employer wants to speak with you. Get in the car.”

It comes as no surprise to Goro anymore that Shido would do something as shady as this, so he opens the back door and gets into the car where Shido is already waiting. The car drives away from the station and for the first few minutes they sit in silence.

“You haven’t changed your opinion on the Phantom Thieves despite it being a blow to your popularity, I see,” Shido points out.

Goro hums and looks out through the tinted window, “My resolve is not easily swayed by public opinion. I’m a detective, the celebrity status is merely a bonus I could go without.”

Whether Shido picks up on his lie is unclear, but he doesn’t push the topic further than necessary. That’s not why he basically ended up kidnapping Goro, “I respect that... however, what I don’t respect is you breaking our deal and tipping Okumura off about your investigation. Please, indulge me in how that was part of your plan to uncover the truth behind those rumours.”

The taunting feels a little unnecessary, but Goro understands the man’s frustration and looks in his direction, “As far as Okumura is aware, I was there yesterday to interrogate one of his employees. Besides, it was necessary for me to go there, and considering the alternative was risk sneaking in and getting caught, I’m sure even you can appreciate my far less risky method of approach.”

“Did it pay off?”

Goro nods, “I lack physical evidence, but I am certain that Okumura is heavily mistreating his employees, yes. I witnessed it myself, however I did not get the chance to document it.”

Whatever Shido says next is completely drowned out by the loud honking of a car horn, followed by the impact of another car ramming into the front of the car. Goro holds out his hand to stop himself from hitting the seat in front of him on instinct and Shido does the same. As soon as the cars stopped moving, the politician opens the door, “Stay inside,” he orders him and gets out of the car, his driver following.

While Goro’s left wondering if he’s just somehow prone to car accidents, the situation does give him an opportunity that he can’t waste. He looks around the car and finds a phone on the floor of the car on Shido’s side, where it must have fallen during the accident without Shido’s knowledge.

He could finally do with some luck coming his way.

* * *

It takes a longer for Shido and his driver to get back than he expected, so once Goro’s put Shido’s phone back down where he found it, he pulls out his phone to check his texts. He expects the group chat to be up in flames by now, but a lot of the notifications are from his blog, and a few from individual members of the Phantom Thieves. He ignores his blog completely, knowing already that it's all just hate directed at him without having to read the messages at all.

There’s a few from Ren, mostly warning him about the fallout of what he said online, there’s a couple from Ann which don’t go into detail but ask if they could meet up as soon as possible, there’s one from Futaba which is just a sad face emoji, and one surprisingly from Ryuji of all people.

Curious about that one the most, he opens up the chat,

> **Ryuji:** So even though you shit talked us on live tv
> 
> **Ryuji:** I wanna talk to you
> 
> **Ryuji:** Just the two of us

He glances out of the window to check on Shido and his driver, and since it doesn’t look like either will be coming back soon, he replies to Ryuji and gets an immediate response back,

> **Akechi:** Should I be concerned?
> 
> **Ryuji:** I mean…
> 
> **Ryuji:** I ain’t gonna beat your ass if that’s what you’re asking
> 
> **Ryuji:** But bring your gym clothes
> 
> **Ryuji:** If you even have something like that
> 
> **Akechi:** I’ll see what I can do.
> 
> **Akechi:** However, I am a little busy right now.
> 
> **Akechi:** Could we meet in Shibuya this afternoon?

The door next to him opens and Shido comes back in, although the driver is still settling things with the driver of the other car. While Goro puts his phone away, Shido picks up his, dusts it off and puts it in his pocket with a frown, “Perhaps it is best we end things here, that is, if you are able to slip past the crowd forming around us without getting noticed.”

Goro nods, “I assure you, that won’t be a problem for me. As for our deal-.”

Shido cuts him off and raises his hand, “Your word is enough in this instance. I’d rather avoid leaving a paper trail and risk causing more of a stir than necessary. However, I have one more question to ask you before you leave.”

“Yes?”

“Regarding Okumura,” Shido begins, “If what you have said is true, and the rumours are real, then Okumura would be the kind of man the Phantom Thieves would certainly target. Do you think they will steal his heart next?”

It’s a name Goro expects to show up on the Phantom Thief aficionado website regardless of whether he’ll bring it up with them or not, but changing hearts against someone’s will is something that Goro still isn’t keen on. Futaba was one thing, she asked for it herself, and helping the Thieves with Kaneshiro was mostly for self-benefit (and if he were being honest, he didn’t care much for the well-being of a man involved with human trafficking). Stealing Okumura’s heart… it’s different somehow.

But he doesn’t doubt Ren would try and change his heart despite Goro’s protests, “He is the most likely one to be targeted, yes. Whether it will happen sooner rather than later, only time will tell.”

* * *

Shido’s car crashed not too far from his apartment, so Goro ends up walking there after sneaking through the crowd instead of taking any form of public transport. He could do without getting into car accidents for one second, even if they do result in unexpected benefits.

He quickly gives Ryuji a more specific time for when they could meet up while on his way to his apartment via text. Inside, he moves quickly to switch the contents of his briefcase from files to his very pristine gym clothes, grabbing a bottle of water on his way out as soon as he’s got everything he thinks he’ll need. It’s hard to tell when Ryuji isn’t giving him any specifics.

He arrives in Shibuya on time with little trouble, and Ryuji is already waiting for him outside the subway station, flicking through something on his phone. He’s dressed in regular clothes, unlike Goro who’s still in his school uniform from the interview, and he’s got a bag in his hand.

When the blond looks up, he notices Goro and walks over to him, slouched as usual, “Was wondering if you’d actually show up.”

“I try to keep my word,” Goro says, a little irritated by the implication of Ryuji’s apparently low opinion of him, “And what have I shown up to exactly?”

Ryuji lifts up his bag and sways it in front of the detective’s face, “You ever been to the gym?”

Goro shakes his head when Ryuji lowers the bag, eyes still trained on it, “I prefer outdoor activities if given the choice. However, this doesn’t completely answer my question. Why do you want me of all people to go to the gym with you?”

Ryuji sighs, but it’s clear from how quickly he answers that he expected the question to come up, “I don’t think it takes a detective like you to figure out that I don’t like or trust you very much, even if I got along with you when I thought you were someone else.”

Goro nods, “Understandable.”

“But Ren likes you, a lot,” Ryuji continues, “And he’s my bro, so… if you’re gonna be around, I figure I might as well give you a second chance to redeem yourself or whatever. If you even want to.”

“And you thought going to the gym together would be a step forward in our supposed friendship?” Goro asks, and it comes off far more condescending than he means to, not that he even dislikes the idea. He smiles to reassure Ryuji that it wasn’t his intention, “I’ve heard that physical activities can bring two people closer, and since you are Ren’s best friend then it is indeed for the best that we get along.”

“Uh, yeah,” Ryuji agrees with Goro’s long winded explanation, of which he only listened to about half, “So, follow me then.”

Goro does just that and the two of them move through Shibuya’s central street in silence until they reach the alley where the entrance to the gym was. Ryuji presses the button for the lift and waits, turning around to face the detective, “I’m not trying to start a fight but uh, why’d you say all of that on TV if you’re trying to be a part of us?”

“I’m an expert liar, why do you think?” Goro says in an antagonising tone but remembers what exactly he’s here for and shakes his head, “No, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be talking like that. To an extent, I do worry about how your actions are unchecked, and how much influence you have over the public… but that’s not why I spoke out against you. It was to preserve my image. In order to be taken seriously by any adults, I can’t be seen as a pushover, especially not as someone who succumbs to the will of the public.”

The lift doors open up and they both walk in. Ryuji presses the button to go up and the doors close, “Kind self-centred ain’t it?”

“Of course, it’s self-centred,” Goro agrees completely, “Fame happened to come with being a high school detective so I used it to my advantage. I have no noble goal when it comes to that.”

“Damn,” Ryuji’s eyes widen, not from his words, but instead from how honest Goro appears to be for once, not holding back on what he says, “You ain’t even lying, huh? So… it’s the detective gig you’re after. Why?”

“Ah…” Goro’s starting to realise why Ren’s friends with Ryuji after all. While he seems vulgar and thick-headed at first glance, the former track athlete is very easy to talk to, even getting Goro to spill out his true feelings in just one meeting. He’s a little jealous, if only because that ability would make his life a little easier, “While I am trying to be as honest as I can with you all from now on-,” except for the biggest lie involving his investigation of all of the Phantom Thieves, “-that issue is… very personal to me. Not even Ren knows about it, so until I feel more comfortable discussing that, I’d rather avoid the topic.”

Ryuji nods and smiles, “Hey, uh, don’t worry about it,” he puts his hand on Goro’s shoulder in a reassuring way as well, “Take all the time you need, man.”

The lift doors open up and the two walk out into the gym, “so, uh, what kinda activities do ya do anyway?”

“Cycling, bouldering…” Goro trails off, “Although in this heat I’ve been avoiding both, so perhaps I may be a little more out of shape than usual.”

Ryuji shrugs, “Hey, my legs messed up anyway. But if we’re both at a disadvantage… wanna make some kinda bet?”

“Oh?” Goro lifts his eyebrow and smirks, “What shall we bet?”

“Ramen?” Ryuji suggests immediately, “There’s this awesome place I know, whoever loses buys ramen for the other, yeah? And as for what we should do… uh, see which one of us can run the longest on the highest speed?”

“You have yourself a deal, Sakamoto,” Goro holds his hand out to shake Ryuji on it.

Ryuji takes it and grins back at the detective, “You’re on! But uh, call me Ryuji, only teachers call me Sakamoto so it’s a little weird… I can call you Goro, yeah?”

Goro lets go of the athlete’s hand and grins back at him, “Oh, only winners can call me by that name. You better try your hardest if you wish to earn that privilege,” he jokes, using the snobbiest tone he can muster, getting Ryuji to smile even wider.

“Oh, you’re so on!”


	22. And We're Back

Summer passes by far too quickly once Goro’s finished his Okumura investigation. Being free once again from TV interviews and generally being disliked by the public for his most recent comments, he ends up spending most of his time with the Phantom Thieves to the point where he’s practically got a schedule around all of them.

On Monday he watches Neo Featherman with Futaba and Ren, a secret meeting shared between only the three of them, well, four including Morgana. It’s something Futaba came up with herself after learning of their shared interest, and despite objecting to eating copious amounts of junk food at first, he ends up sitting on the floor next to Ren while chewing on mochi that Ren brought with him.

On Tuesday he finds Ryuji in the gym once more where the two bond over their sense of rivalry. On the outside, it would appear as though the two were arch enemies, constantly antagonising each other over who can lift more or run faster, but it ends in a shared meal and a friendly conversation.

On Wednesday Ann has a photoshoot which she invites Goro to. She’s not at all surprised when the editor ends up asking the detective to do a photoshoot with her, and while he declines the invite, Ann keeps insisting how his cute looks could fit in really well with the magazine. It seems to take the edge off for her to have someone there when Ren himself is busy elsewhere.

On Thursday, Yusuke ends up asking Goro to walk around the city with him right after meeting him in Leblanc. The trip is very quiet, and it’s only after they’ve walked around aimlessly for half an hour that Goro realises that he’s only with him so that Yusuke’s people watching doesn’t get called out as creepy. He uses the opportunity to voice his concerns over investigations he’s conducting, knowing that Yusuke is too focused to actually hear a word he’s saying.

On Friday, Makoto texts Goro in the morning and the two somehow end up studying back at her apartment. It’s tense and awkward at first, especially after she thinks he’s being patronising for asking her if she knew how to solve a sum she was clearly stuck on, but despite the initial insinuations and awkwardness, Goro ends up leaving satisfied while the student council president looks far more content than she did at the beginning of their study session. He’s 80% sure it’s from the productive session, and not from watching him leave.

Goro and Ren both leave Saturday free for date night, but when Ren comes by Goro’s apartment, the detective sees the circles under Ren’s eyes and chooses to have a night in with him instead. They only leave to get groceries from the nearby supermarket, but once they come back, Ren insist they change into pyjamas.

“We still need to eat,” Goro points out to him when he suggests it, “What if we get food on our pyjamas?”

“Then we can change them,” Ren shrugs, “Or better yet-,”

Goro cuts him off before he can finish his perverted thought, “Fine, but if I get anything on this, you’re paying for my laundry, as this was your idea to begin with.”

“Or, or,” Ren starts to take out the groceries from the bags and sets out the ingredients on Goro’s only counter, “I could just get my maid to do it.”

“...I’m sorry your what now?” Goro pauses his own action of getting out the necessary pots and pans to make curry and rice, then turns to his boyfriend to make sure he heard correctly, “You have a _maid_? And when were you going to tell me about this fascinating part of your life?”

“Uh…” Ren stumbles with his words, an uncommon occurrence for Goro to witness, so the fluffy haired thief turns around completely so he’s not facing Goro, “She’s my teacher. I was just helping her with stuff. She’s not a maid anymore, but she does my laundry, makes me curry, and gives me a massage whenever I ask her to-.”

That’s definitely not the right thing he was supposed to say, “She does _what_ now?!” Goro asking him this while coincidentally holding the knife they were gonna use to cut the meat with doesn’t make Ren’s case look any better, “Is there anything _else_ this maid/teacher does that you’re willing to share tonight?”

“It’s not like that!” Ren tries to reassure him, “Just ask Morgana! I only ask her to do it cos it makes me feel less tired after we leave the Metaverse so I can actually go out and do stuff in the evening instead of going to sleep immediately…” He turns to Goro finally and reaches his hand out towards the one with the knife, which he points to, “Uh… unless you actually plan on using that knife against me, probably rightfully, could you, uh set it down?”

Goro looks down at the implement in his hand, the one he’s completely forgotten about in the first place. He sets it down on his table, then turns back around with a sigh, “I suppose if all it is is getting your energy back then… I can’t be mad. Even if that sounds incredibly…”

“Dirty?” Ren asks him when the other trails off, “Yeah I can see how. Uh, in which case I should be honest about all the other shady stuff I’ve been doing, huh?”

Goro raises an eyebrow, less mad now and more intrigued, “You confessing to this isn’t going to force me to make some incredibly hard decisions, is it? Such as whether I’d have to report you to the police or not?”

Ren shakes his head while rubbing the back of his neck, “…I hope not.”

While Ren cooks Sojiro’s curry, Goro spends his evening listening to all of the people Ren’s helped while simultaneously getting into more trouble than Goro originally thought he was in. By the time he’s finished, Goro’s jealous again, but not because the other has been spending so much of his time without the detective, but because he’s capable of doing all of this selflessly. Sure, he may have gotten certain benefits out of the relationships he’s formed, but none of them seem to have started out with the intent of gaining something in return for his help, something Goro can’t relate to in any way.

He’s only trying to find the Black Mask since they seem to know something about his mother’s murder, not because it’s for the good of the country. He solves private cases to gain money and official ones to gain fame, and so far, his relationships are all made up so he can get closer to the people he’s trying to investigate.

Perhaps not Ren. Ren was still a suspect, a minor one considering he supposedly saved Goro from killing Black Mask, but if that’s all he was then he wouldn’t be intently listening to the others stories while he cooks him curry so they can eat it later while watching a movie together in their pyjamas.

No, at least he’s certain that this relationship is based on something more than selfish gain.

* * *

After that night, Goro declines the invitation to go to the beach with the others. Futaba insists she’d feel more comfortable if he were there, but he’s not sure if he himself would be comfortable crashing an event like that. He may be stealing hearts alongside them now, but he’s only a Phantom Thief in name. How could he call himself one of them when he’s not even really their friend?

He stays behind and shuts himself in his apartment, where he decides to get back to work.

The first thing he pulls up on his laptop is the Phan-Site, where the number of requests since Medjed was taken down by Futaba has significantly increased. He finds his own name on there about as much as he expected given the amount of hate he’s been getting from anons everywhere, but he ignores it. It’s just online hate and it’s to be expected. He knows he hasn’t done anything to actually get the Thieves to go after him, and he’s got the support of their leader to back him up.

Another target that’s becoming popular in the requests is Okumura himself, something Goro had noticed even before, however now with how well known the Thieves had become around the world, the number of requests for him has gone up significantly. It’s only a matter of time, then, before the other’s see this and choose to go after him.

Goro knows there’s little he can do to stop them this time but having the backup of the Phantom Thieves while in the fortress could be used to his advantage. Last time they were there, Ren and Goro had only gotten so far, even with Joker’s multiple personas and Crow’s two very powerful ones. If Okumura were really behind the mental shutdowns, then it’s entirely plausible that he’d keep that secret as deep in his cognition as possible. It’s a secret he’d keep away from prying eyes after all.

Among this, Goro remembers how he ended up dealing with Okumura in the first place. Didn’t Shido say he’d denounce Okumura were the rumours true? And yet, he’s heard nothing from the man, complete silence over that.

It was a lie, it had to be, and one Goro can’t believe he fell for. Shido was a politician, of course he wouldn’t give up funding for his campaign over rumours he could easily cover for. Goro was probably only there to make sure the other wasn’t working against him. Well, at least he found out more about Okumura and got paid.

He’ll deal with Okumura first, then move onto uncovering what Shido’s deal is.

* * *

A few days later, school starts up once again for Goro’s final term, and he wakes up feeling a little hesitant to go. It’s easy enough to block out the haters when he avoids going online and spends his time outside either not looking like his usual self or in back alley cafes to which none of his haters go, but it’s another to step through the doors of his high school.

It’s not like anyone would even dare to lay a finger on him, this isn’t his old high school, and he’s too closely associated with the police now, but he can’t say he looks forward to all of the dirty looks and the whispers he’s going to get throughout the day.

He slumps out of bed after heavy consideration and gets ready for his day by showering, brushing his teeth and putting on his summer school uniform. By the time he leaves his apartment, the street is already full of people making their daily commute to work and class, and he joins the crowd.

At the station, Ren is nowhere to be seen, either having already taken his train to Aoyama-Itchome or not having gotten to Shibuya station at all yet, but he doesn’t wait around to find out, not if it means he might be late for his first class after school started up again.

The first half of the day goes by smoothly, he stays quiet unless he’s asked to answer a question and if there are students whispering behind his back, he doesn’t pay attention to it, it’s the second half where things take a turn for the worse, when during lunch he leaves the classroom briefly for a bathroom break and to grab an apple from the school shop, and when he comes back only fifteen minutes later, he finds a ripped up piece of paper on his desk.

The writing is all wonky, as if someone weren’t writing with their dominant hand, but he’s certain it would’ve had to have been someone from their school, or at least someone wearing the same uniform as him. It’s not the first time he’s found a letter on his desk from an unknown source, so no one pays him any attention. Little do they know that this time this letter has nothing to do with a confession of love.

**I’ve made my decision. Investigate the Metaverse to your hearts content- I will not stop you. You are safe while you can still be useful to us.**

* * *

Over the following week, he sticks to his studies and stays as far as he can from the Phantom Thieves and the Metaverse itself, only occasionally running into Ren at the train station. Black Mask was baiting him, there’s no way they were being honest about it, so when he does see Ren, he asks the other to stay out of the Metaverse for a little while too. The leader of the Phantom Thieves doesn’t even object to it, understanding the detectives concern, and there’s little reason for him to go there at all if they have no target.

It doesn’t stop Goro from worrying that this is exactly what the Black Mask wanted him to do, that they needed everyone to stay away while they worked on their newest plan, but Goro doesn’t manage to find out what exactly that plan is in time, not when he’s called in to Shuujin Academy.

Niijima is already waiting for him in the office of the late principal, and with the second years gone on their school trip, it’s easy for him to navigate through the building without being stopped by any of the students, “You’re late,” Niijima points out in an unamused tone.

“I do occasionally attend my own classes, you know,” Goro snaps back at her, not in the right mind set to deal with her sour mood, “The police barely gave me any information about this, so please, explain why exactly I was called in of all people? And what you, a prosecutor, is doing at a crime scene?”

Niijima shakes her head and hands him the paper she held in her hand, “this isn’t the crime scene. Shuujin’s principal was on his way to the police station when he was run over by a truck. We have reason to believe that he had some valuable intel on the Phantom Thieves, and maybe even the mental shutdowns, so we managed to secure a warrant to search his office before it was tampered with as well as his home. However, I asked to have you brought here specifically because this would probably be of most interest to you.”

“This is where he covered up for the PE teacher if the rumours ring true,” Goro agrees, and after signing some papers along with a time stamp, he steps into the office to carry out his own search, “Has the police moved anything yet?”

Niijima shakes her head, choosing to stand just outside of the office while Goro looks around, “I’ve convinced them to wait for you, I knew you’d be angry at them otherwise for moving things around.”

She’s right of course, the police in Goro’s eyes are completely inept and only good for organisational matters, so having someone other than him or Niijima search the office would’ve been as bad as tampering in his eyes, “What of the students? Have they heard anything? Your sister, perhaps?”

Niijima shakes her head again, “My sister is on the school trip in Hawaii, as are all of your suspects if I’m not mistaken. The police have been interviewing the teachers, are you not interested in what they have to say?”

Goro snorts at the idea, but his search doesn’t stop. He opens up cabinets and finds some papers inside. He looks through them, careful not to move them out of order, but they only seem to relate to the school and nothing more, “Oh please, the teachers here are either in with the Phantom Thieves and won’t rat them out, or they’re oblivious.”

“Amamiya’s and Takamaki’s homeroom teacher isn’t here right now, but are you not even interested in what she has to say?” Niijima cocks an eyebrow, “She has two of your suspects in her class and the boy who’s in charge of that phan-site, surely she may know something?”

Goro shrugs, “If you’re so insistent, I’ll talk to her once she comes back.”

“I’m not….” Niijima trails off, “You’re taking this far more lightly than you should be. How are you acting so calm when the entire city is against us?” She finally snaps at him, causing Goro to stand up straight and look at her.

The case was certainly frustrating, and if he wasn’t one of the individuals who got them there in the first place he may have been just as frustrated, but to lose her cool out in public like this? And only over his own behaviour? That wasn’t what Niijima would usually do, “I’m calm because that’s what the situation calls for. Losing myself won’t result in the case progressing any further, Niijima-san.”

“And acting like nothing has happened will?” Niijima throws back, “Where has that gotten you, Akechi? You’re now one of the most hated people in the city and you’re no further in figuring out who’s behind any of this. At least I’ve been able to progress with my case, can you say the same?”

“Progress…?” Goro asks, since he’s sure that Niijima has no more evidence on the Thieves than he does. How could she when he’s both figuratively and to an extent literally in bed with their leader? “Niijima-san, what have you done in my absence? Are you hiding something from me?”

Niijima shakes her head, “Forget it, just let me know if you find anything in here later.”

She leaves before Goro can question her any further, but a text he receives moments after is all too telling, but he waits until he’s out of the office to check on it.

There’s only one item of interest he finds in the office, a red calling card hidden underneath a bunch of papers in another drawer. Reading through it, it’s very well made, but almost certainly a fake. The wording in all of this is too elegant, and the words used are far more complex than the ones the Phantom Thieves use. Even if Makoto herself dictated what was to be said on the card, and as far as he’s aware, that’s usually Ryuji’s job, it wouldn’t sound quite like this.

However, he’s the only one who could possibly know that, the police would likely believe that this card is genuine and accuse them of manslaughter by mental shutdown, so he does the only thing he knows to do and pockets the calling card when no one is watching him.

With nothing else in the office, he leaves, signing the paper once more with a timestamp, and he pulls his phone out to check the messages.

> **Futaba:** So, you told the prosecutor that we’re Phantom Thieves?
> 
> **Futaba:** But that’s not all, is it?

He should’ve known that she’d hacked into his phone and heard all of his private conversations, he knew she’d done it in Leblanc already, and the Thieves weren’t super trusting of him to begin with. She must’ve done it when she invited him to watch anime with her.

> **Goro:** Niijima believes the Phantom Thieves are also responsible for causing the mental shutdowns
> 
> **Goro:** I do not think that.
> 
> **Goro:** At least, not all of them are responsible.
> 
> **Futaba:** You think it’s someone on the team?
> 
> **Futaba:** But I’m not one of the suspects.
> 
> **Goro:** You’re not a suspect because I watched you awaken to your persona myself.
> 
> **Goro:** The one causing the mental shutdowns must have had a persona before even I had one.
> 
> **Goro:** Therefore, anyone who has a persona now, whose awakening I did not witness myself would have to be a suspect.
> 
> **Goro:** Unless I have concrete evidence pointing otherwise.
> 
> **Futaba:** You didn’t have to tell Niijima though
> 
> **Goro:** It’s easy enough for her to simply lock a stranger up and ask questions later.
> 
> **Goro:** Don’t you think she might think twice when it comes to her sister?
> 
> **Futaba:** You say that but… uh…
> 
> **Futaba:** Well, she kinda came to Leblanc.
> 
> **Futaba:** Are you free tonight? There’s something you might wanna hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forget that they only have like two weeks rest before shit hits the fan for them again.
> 
> Anyway! I apologise for the slight delay in my usual updating frequency, I've not been doing super well and it's contributed to some writers block, which might mean that in general I won't be posting more than once a week but I absolutely promise to get this story finished! (Although usually when I say I won't be updating so frequently I end up updating three times a week instead so who knows!)
> 
> Thank you all for your support once more!


	23. Trust

Goro pulls off the headphones Futaba gave him when she stops the recording. She waits patiently for him to form a response while he’s still trying to take in why Niijima had threatened Sojiro like that in the first place. Was she so desperate to get Ren and the others arrested that she'd threaten Sojiro's parental rights? Should he even have told her about his own hypotheses in the first place?

“When did this take place?” Goro asks her and Futaba turns around to check the date of the recorded message from the bugs she planted in Leblanc.

“July, but I didn’t bring it up before cos…” she looks down at the ground awkwardly, unsure of how to explain her situation, one that Goro knows of all too well, which is why he puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“It’s alright Futaba, I understand. Still,” he looks back over to the computer screen, “I’m surprised that you trusted me with such information after what I told you.”

Futaba shakes her head, “It’s not like I fully trust you… but unlike the others, you didn’t really lie to me. But the way I see it, you’re trying to uncover who in the Phantom Thieves killed my mom, right?” Futaba asks without lifting her head up, “So, since we’re after the same thing… I won’t tell the others.”

Goro looks back over to her, and when she finally looks up from the ground, he smiles at her, “Thank you, I appreciate that.”

“That being said,” Futaba turns back in her chair to face her computer screen. She picks up her headphones and puts them around her neck, “What are you gonna do about it? And about Niijima? It’d be kinda bad if she arrested Ren and the others before you find out who it is, right?”

Goro takes a couple of steps back until he reaches Futaba’s bed and sits down on it. Instead of turning around, she continues scrolling through whatever it was she was doing earlier while Goro talks to her, “Ren getting arrested would certainly be bad, but what’s more concerning is the possibility that Black Mask will use that to their advantage. Whoever they work for has some connection to the police, and if Niijima has Ren arrested…” Goro trails off, “I’d be called in to interrogate him I assume.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Futaba asks.

“Well, thinking from their perspective,” Goro crosses his right arm over his stomach, then cradles his elbow in his hand while putting a finger to his chin in thought, “If I were the Black Mask and Ren were arrested, I could probably sneak into the interrogation room and kill him. Not to mention, if the detective that’s trying to catch me is going to be there unarmed, I would be able to kill two thieves with one gun.”

Futaba finally stops what she’s doing and swivels around in her chair, “That’s one hell of a thought. So… what? We just have to change Niijima’s heart to stop her from arresting everyone, right?”

Goro shakes his head, “It’s far more complicated than that. If that plan doesn’t work, then I’m certain whoever is behind this will think of something else or have someone else arrest them. We must determine who is Black Masks boss and take them down first… besides, I’d rather avoid changing Niijima-san’s heart if at all possible. We do not know if she has a Palace, and her goal isn’t entirely misguided, it is merely her methods which are questionable.”

Futaba frowns at that, “And what if she actually does terminate Sojiro’s parental rights?! I can’t go back to my uncle!”

“Hm?” Goro looks up, “Oh, she won’t do that. That was merely a scare tactic. I do not think we necessarily need to change her heart regardless. It’s still a method I’m not comfortable with using, and I’m sure Makoto and I could convince her that what she is doing is unjust.”

Futaba stares at him, uncertainly showing on her face as she frowns and she murmurs incoherent words, “I… well, I guess I have no option but to trust you on that… but wait, you’re saying we should target someone else? Who do you have in mind?”

“Someone who I’m certain is connected to the Black Mask, one way or another,” Goro stands up and walks over to Futaba again. With her silent permission, he types in the address of the phan-site, and sure enough he brings up the most recent poll. His name still comes up in the top 3, but it’s no longer the first name on the list, “Have you heard of Okumura Kunikazu? The CEO of Okumura Foods?”

“Heard of him?” Futaba raises an eyebrow and swats Goro’s hands away. After clicking off of the web browser and searching through her files, she pulls up a few documents that had a very familiar layout, “I’ve been looking into him for a while now, courtesy of Makoto.”

“Makoto?” Goro frowns, “Wait… those files are from Niijima, correct? Did you… steal them?”

Futaba winces when she realises that if there was one thing she shouldn’t have told Goro about, it was that she hacked into his co-workers files, but now that it’s slipped out, she tells him the truth, “I didn’t steal them! I just got Makoto to copy her sister’s data. We, uh, we kinda talked about it without you since we didn’t know how much you’d co-operate with us.”

“And who’s idea was that?”

Futaba glances down at her keyboard, anywhere to not have to face Goro right now while she mumbles, “Makoto’s… and Morgana’s… but it was Ren who suggested it…”

He’d understand if it was Makoto who had suggested it, after all she was still most opposed to him joining, and Morgana made sense since the cat had very little reason to trust him at all but Ren? Why would Ren act behind his back? And it was because he didn’t trust Goro?

“I… see,” it’s all he can muster to say, “Did he give you a reason?”

“N-no,” Futaba mutters, “B-but… I don’t think it’s cos he didn’t trust you, a-a-at least that doesn’t seem to be his reason!” She tries to reassure the detective, “The way he said it sounded like he just didn’t want to get you in any more trouble.”

“Right,” Goro has a hard time believing that, not because Futaba’s a particularly good liar or he thinks she’s lying at all, but because he knows Ren’s just as good as lying as he is, and there’s no way he can’t fool the other Phantom Thieves as well as Goro can, “I’ll deal with that later,” Goro’s tone shifts back, “In which case, you agree we should take down Okumura?”

“You sure he’s doing bad stuff?” Futaba asks, “And that he’s connected to the culprit?”

Goro nods, “I believe he certainly knows more than he lets on, and as for his morality… well, I’ve seen it first hand and no, I don’t think Okumura is a good person. So, if I bring him up at the next meeting, can I count on you to back me up?”

Futaba looks up, no longer panicking, and she nods, “I’ll do what I can!”

* * *

Goro wakes up to what he assumes is the next morning at first, but something seems off about it. There’s no bed, instead he lies on the cold metal floor of… well it’s hard to tell where he was really, but it’s a small room, one with a table in the middle, some stools, and shelves with boxes in them standing against a wall. Looking down, Goro notices he’s wearing gloves, but they’re nothing like the ones he wears daily or any of the Metaverse costumes he has. No, these gloves in particular remind him of one person.

He lifts his hands to his head, patting around and finds plastic covering the majority of his head as opposed to the material of his hood or the feeling of his soft hair. The material on his arms is all wrong too, black and blue stripes cover his whole body. He’s no longer Crow or the detective prince. Here, in this nightmare, he’s the stone-cold killer he’s been chasing this whole time.

It’s a dream, definitely, but if he’s the Black Mask in this, then it wouldn't be wrong to assume that the real Black Mask wouldn’t be out to get him here.

The metallic sound of his shoes stepping on the ground bellow him rings out in the corridor when he steps out of the safe room, but no matter where he looks, no Shadows jump out at him or try to stop him, so he makes his way up onto a higher platform where he begins to hear grunting and shouting further up.

When he reaches a more open spaced area, he finds the Phantom Thieves in the middle of it, battling some robots while a Shadow version of Okumura himself wearing a spacesuit watched from his chair.

Spacesuit?

That made no sense, Goro’s certain that he wouldn’t see Okumura Foods as a space station, not when he’s confirmed that it’s a fortress. So then why was Okumura in a spacesuit? And what was that girl in the hat down there doing fighting with the Thieves?

There’s plenty to unpack here, but it’s further proof that it’s all a dream, so he stays back to watch as Joker and the others defeat the robots and swiftly take care of Okumura.

There’s a conversation that Goro can’t hear after that, but as soon as Mona grabs the treasure and the Palace begins to shake and crumble, he knows it’s either time to leave, or time for his dream to end.

Except… neither of those things happen. He stays there, even when he tries to move his body one way, it doesn’t budge.

Instead, his hand work against him and pull out a pistol and a silencer. His hands screw the silencer on, and as much as he tries to fight it, he points the gun right at Okumura’s head.

He closes his eyes, but just before he wakes back up, he feels himself pull the trigger.

* * *

It’s not the first time Goro’s woken up sweating and panting from a nightmare, and it certainly won’t be the last, but this one in particular has him distracted throughout the day, which is why during lunch hour when he’s offered a last-minute interview, he picks it up. It’s a better distraction than the school work he’s already well ahead of.

The interview is simple, and as it’s clearly a matter of finding someone to replace a last-minute cancellation, Goro is more than happy to indulge in some Phantom Thief discussion. It gets him away from the nightmare, and another fear that’s stayed around in his head since his conversation with Futaba.

He briefly considers going to Leblanc, but if Ren’s only getting back today, he’s bound to be jet lagged and any conversation he’ll have with him is gonna fly over Ren’s head.

So, he does something far stupider that evening once his interview is over, and travels to Okumura Foods where the employees are already leaving the building. He keeps away from the doors leading into the building and chooses a spot as far away from the crowds as he can.

When he thinks no one is watching, he opens up his bookmarks in the MetaNav to travel to the Palace in an effort to reassure his subconscious that the spaceport was all just a horrible dream, and while the crowds aren’t paying attention to what he’s doing, there’s always at least one person watching.

* * *

There are no nightmares the next day, no dreams at all, so Goro feels far more comfortable when he shows up to Leblanc later that day for the meeting he had called with the Phantom Thieves. He gets there before anyone else does, and according to Sojiro, Futaba is already waiting for them upstairs with her laptop out. He picks up the cup of coffee Sojiro had made for him before, presumably Futaba herself had warned him that the detective was showing up, and he goes upstairs.

She barely even acknowledges him, so he sets down his briefcase and coffee on Ren’s desk, then moves his table so it’s facing the couch, then goes to the back to pull out enough chairs for the rest of them while Futaba stays lying on the couch, “Did you bring any pocky?”

“What?” Goro asks, “no of course I didn’t bring any, why would you-.”

“Boo,” Futaba replies without looking up, “Would’ve been really nice of you if you had.”

Goro huffs, picking up his coffee to sip it while leaning against the back wall, “How exactly was I to know that you wanted pocky today?”

Futaba shrugs nonchalantly with her back to him, “You’re the detective, you tell me.”

“I-,” Goro stutters when trying to formulate a logical response to her illogical thinking, but he’s interrupted when Ren walks upstairs with a plastic bag in his hand and the rest of the Thieves following behind. He drops the bag in front of Futaba who happily picks out a box of pocky from it.

“How did-,” Goro looks between the two, completely baffled. He thinks better than to ask and keeps his mouth shut, “Alright, well, since you are all here,” he waits until everyone’s taken a seat and paying attention to what he has to say, “I assume you all know what happened to the principal.”

Makoto nods, “Yes, my sister informed me, although she refused to go into detail about this. I assume it has to do with the culprit, yes?”

Goro nods, “There’s a possibility, yes, but I cannot confirm.”

Futaba pulls up something on her laptop and interrupts him, “Word got out about that and the whole phan-site is talking about it… everyone seems to think he deserved it for covering up those crimes.”

“The hell?” Ryuji bursts out, “Look it was super shitty what he did but that doesn’t mean he deserved to die! What the hell do they expect us to do now?”

“I’ve discussed this with Futaba while you were gone, but with her research-,” he pauses for a split second to take note of the others expression. For the most part, they look guilty and surprised, but Makoto’s and Ren’s expressions don’t change, “and my own investigation, I believe we should take down the first target on the phan-site, Okumura Kunikazu. Hopefully you’ve all read through the accusations on there before coming here.”

The rest fall quiet until after some consideration Ann speaks up, “Are we sure we wanna go after this guy though just cos he’s the top target?” She glances over to Futaba’s screen, “I mean, if we go by that, we should be stealing your heart next, Goro.”

“It would be troublesome if we began working based on the will of the public,” Yusuke adds to that, but Morgana objects.

“You guys wanted to get bigger right?” The cat jumps onto the table, “the accusations against this guy are insane! And if that’s what it’ll take to be more popular then we should do it. Besides, we’d be helping out those overworked people too.”

Goro takes a calm sip of his coffee before he replies, “I agree with Morgana,” he lies, “Moreover, I’ve looked into it myself and I assure you, the accusations are not mere rumours. We would certainly be helping out the public here. What do you think, leader?”

Ren, who’s been looking distantly at the table for some time, looks up, then turns to Futaba, “What about your analysis?”

“Eh…” Futaba knows Goro’s hiding the entire truth, but she struggles to make up a plausible lie when it comes to something so fundamental, “Well, there’s plenty of data here showing that Okumura might have some connection to the culprit… the dates of the incidents line up with stock rises in Okumura Foods according to Niijima, so it’s not entirely impossible that he’s connected.”

Makoto looks over to Goro again, “That’s why you really want to go, isn’t it?”

Goro shakes his head, “It’s an opportunity to investigate that while we do a public service, nothing more,” he sips on his coffee again.

Makoto narrows her eyes, unsure if she can believe him as easily as the others seem to, “and since when have you been so charitable? I thought you were opposed to us changing hearts? Do you not think that it’s unjust?”

Goro shrugs off her questions, “Can I not change my mind? Since helping Futaba change, I’ve noticed how much good stealing ones heart can do. In a way, I suppose you’ve changed my heart as well,” he takes a sip while Ryuji groans in the back.

“Yeah okay, fine, just never say that again,” he replies, “Fine, if it’s for a good cause, and if he’s really doing all that shit, then… I say we go steal Okumura’s treasure.”

Goro smiles at him, then waits for the others response. Ann goes next, “I guess if you’ve both looked into it and both think it’s a good idea then I trust you guys.”

Yusuke nods in agreement, “I agree with Ann. You’re certain we are doing the right thing here, yes?” Goro nods, “Very well.”

“Ren? Makoto?” Goro asks, knowing he’s already got Morgana and Futaba on his side, “We can only steal a treasure if the vote is unanimous, correct?”

Makoto speaks up before Ren, “I’m not super happy with the idea, but if there are people suffering because of Okumura’s neglect or greed… then we must do something about it.”

Everyone’s eyes land on Ren when he’s the last one who hadn’t spoken out for or against it. He lets out a deep sigh, “I… actually saw his Palace myself with Goro, so yeah I can back him up on that claim. We’ll go there as soon as we’re all free then, does that work?”

When everyone agrees, the group falls out of conversation and into their own activities. When he’s finally done with his coffee, Goro sets his cup down and pats Ren on the shoulder, “Could we talk? Outside, perhaps?”

Nobody pays them any attention while they leave the attic, and even downstairs Sojiro and the elderly couple sitting in a booth don’t look away from the TV screen when the two pass by.

They step across the street into where the washing machines are, and the place is as empty as Goro expected it to be. He folds his arms before talking to his boyfriend, “So, you didn’t trust me enough with the knowledge that you were going to steal data off of my co-worker’s laptop?”

Ren shakes his head, “I knew you wouldn’t agree with the idea, but we needed it and I didn’t want you to get in any more trouble than you’re already in.”

Goro rolls his eyes, “You think I couldn’t have just asked her about it myself?”

“So, right after you ask her about this Okumura just so happens to get his heart stolen?” Ren raises an eyebrow, “She’d start thinking that you’re one of us, this was the safer option and keeping you in the dark about it wasn’t what I wanted to do but…”

Goro shakes his head, “I’m not going to break under a little pressure, Ren. Niijima would need a lot more evidence than me merely asking her about updates on her case, especially since I’m the leading detective on the case.”

Ren sighs and rubs the back of his head, “Sorry, I guess I should’ve clued you in.”

“Yeah, maybe you should have,” Goro’s ready to leave the laundry room, but on his way, he almost bumps into a familiar-looking girl, “I’m sorry-.”

“You’re Akechi Goro, yes?” The girl asks in a soft voice, “My apologies, but I happened to have overheard your conversation. You’re one of the Phantom Thieves, correct?” Goro looks back at Ren who remains unusually unfazed by the conversation. The girl giggles, “Oh, don’t worry, it’s not this conversation that tipped me off, I’ve known about you two since you first came to Okumura Foods. I do not wish to be a bother, however… I have a request. My name is Okumura Haru, and I need you to change my father’s heart!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I called that I'd be posting soon even after saying I probably wouldn't be able to write (in my defence, I forgot stars and ours was coming out and watching it fucked me up and gave me a loooot of unexpected motivation to write).
> 
> Nevertheless, thank you so much for the wonderful support, it really helps me write knowing that you're all enjoying my story while being super nice about it! And thank you for the 300+ kudos!


	24. Wasn't That Graceful?

Instead of having Okumura discover who the rest of the Phantom Thieves are, Goro decides to talk with the girl elsewhere while sending Ren back into Leblanc’s attic to explain the situation to the others.

After a short and quiet ride to Shibuya, Goro and Okumura find themselves in the mostly empty diner and sit in a booth as far from other people as possible. Once they both order some coffee and the waitress leaves, Goro begins his questioning, “I apologise for all of this, but it is for both your safety and the safety of the… others,” he tries to keep things vague, “Going back to our conversation, you said you needed your father to change, not that you wanted him to. Is there anything we should know about that is not public knowledge?”

Okumura looks down at the coffee, stirring it slowly with her spoon, “My father… I’m certain his intentions come from a good place, however, since the death of my mother, he’s gotten more and more protective of me. I’m no longer able to attend school and instead have spent most of my third year home-schooled, I can never go outside with him knowing where I’ll be going and who I’ll be with, he always has a bodyguard following me… but all of this I could endure, it is not why I need his heart to be changed.”

Goro stays quiet to let her talk, giving her a chance to gather her thoughts and courage to speak up against all of this. After some brief pause, she continues, “There are three reasons. The first… Well, a few months ago my father wanted to introduce me to the business, which was when I discovered how Okumura Foods truly operated… You’ve seen the online rumours, yes?”

Goro nods, “I’ve had a chance to investigate your father myself, I’m well aware of how he treats his employees.”

Okumura nods slowly, “There is more to it than what’s on the surface, is there not? That place, the fortress… that is how my father truly feels about the company? And if it is a fortress, he’s pushing his employees to a breaking point just to protect me, correct?”

Goro doesn’t let it show just how much it surprised him that she could tell that much from a trip to the Metaverse, or the fact that she’d already been there at least once, “That’s how you figured out I was one of them, correct?”

Okumura nods, “This isn’t the first time I’ve done something against my fathers wishes, but one of the other few times that I have done as much was when you went into that world… I assumed the other person was your boyfriend. I saw you with him in Okumura Food’s before.”

Ren had definitely gone into Okumura’s Palace once before, but what she was describing didn’t sound anything like that time. There’s no way this girl would’ve followed them into the men’s bathroom without him noticing, “Other person… were they wearing a black mask?”

“Hmm?” Okumura looks up from her coffee cup, “Oh yes, it was hard to tell with it on, but was that not your boyfriend?”

 _I can’t stress enough how much I hope it isn’t,_ Goro keeps to himself. He’s not at all shocked by Black Mask supposedly stalking him in the Metaverse, but the idea that Okumura had almost run into a murderer like that without a powerful persona on her side concerned him, “No, it’s someone you should stay as far away from as possible. Regardless,” he tries to get back to the topic at hand, “You said there is a third reason, yes?”

Okumura looks back down at the coffee, “I know that I am the one who brought it up… but it’s a topic I’d rather not get into right now. Would my other two reasons be enough for you and the others to consider it?”

Goro nods, “As a matter of fact, we’ve already come to a decision regarding your father. I’m sure you will be hearing about it within the month.”

“Oh,” She says but Goro’s certain it isn’t a sigh of relief. She sheepishly looks up from her coffee again, “W-would it be possible for me to come with you…? I’m aware it may be dangerous, but I promise to stay out of your way.”

Goro immediately shakes his head at the request, “I can bring it up with everyone else, but I oppose the idea completely. It’s far too dangerous for us to take you along to that world, not to mention, you’re certain to run into very… upsetting scenes.”

“Why is it safe for you to go, in that case? What makes me any different from you?”

Goro lifts up his coffee cup, “A variety of attributes, experience is one, having a special ability which allows me to fight your fathers’ inner demons is another,” he takes a sip from it, “I apologise, Okumura-chan, but I cannot allow you to endanger yourself like that.”

“Special ability?” Okumura inquires, lifting up her own coffee cup to take a sip, “Could you be talking about a Persona?”

Goro nearly chokes on his drink when she brings it up, but he forces the painful feeling down his throat while just barely letting it show on his face, “P-persona?” He stutters, “If you know about that then I can only assume you have one yourself, yes?”

Okumura nods a little, “I was trying to avoid you when I entered that world, but in doing that I got lost and a soldier ambushed me and nearly had me imprisoned. When I realised that was how my father saw me, as a prisoner, I awoke to my own Persona… I remember very little of what happened after that but I must have gotten out.”

Goro extends his hand over the table, “May I take a look at your phone?” He can tell she’s confused by the inquiry, so he quickly explains, “If you’re telling the truth then you should have an application on your phone now which allows you to travel to that world. I would like to see it with my own eyes.”

Okumura reaches into her handbag and pulls out her phone. She unlocks it and shows him the glowing red icon, “I’ve been unable to delete it ever since, is that normal?”

Goro nods, “It’s a very persistent piece of technology, yes,” he leans away after checking it, “If it’s true, and you do have your own Persona… I will still have to ask the others, though I suppose there’s nothing that could stop you now from going there yourself,” he hums to himself while he tries to come up with a plan, “How possible is it for you to get away from your house and body guards?”

Okumura shakes her head, “It is… rather difficult, but I will try my best to leave if you take me to that world.”

With the MetaNav, it wouldn’t take long for her to figure out how to get to the Palace, and as dangerous as it is for her to go there alone, it’s even worse considering Black Mask already knows the Phantom Thieves will be there, what’s to stop them from killing Okumura while she’s on her own and blaming her sudden disappearance on them? With Goro suddenly seen in the company along with one of the key suspects, it wouldn’t take the police and Sae long to trace everything back to him.

He’s much better off having Okumura on the team than not.

Goro pulls a napkin out of the holder and a pen out of his pocket where he writes down his number, “I’ll talk to them when I next get the chance, and I will try and keep my schedule as open as possible. Contact me when you are next able to slip out without anyone noticing,” as an afterthought, he writes down two addresses, his own, and the one to Leblanc, “When you do, please come to this address,” he points to the Leblanc address, “Otherwise if you need any help, please come find me here.”

“Oh!” She squeaks, “Is that… is that not a private address?”

Goro sighs, leaning back against the booth seat, “In theory, yes, but my address was once leaked online before and I do not have the means to move.”

“A-are you sure it is alright if I-?”

Goro nods and cuts in, “Yes, my home is no more than a place where I eat, shower and rest, although I would appreciate a little notice beforehand,” he says with a smile and finishes up his coffee, “one more thing… if you think someone may be following you, someone other than your guard, or if you believe something suspicious is going on, I need you to inform me of it. Can you do that?”

Okumura nods, “I will try my best.”

* * *

> **Skull** : For real???
> 
> **Skull** : You of all people pulled someone in??
> 
> **Crow** : Didn't you and @Joker pull @Panther into the Metaverse on your third trip there?
> 
> **…**
> 
> **Crow** : your silence is quite telling
> 
> **Oracle** : I can’t believe Crow murdered Skull right in front of us
> 
> **Joker** : F
> 
> **Panther** : F
> 
> **Fox** : It seems like @Joker’s and @Panther’s keyboards are both broken
> 
> **Skull** : n
> 
> **Skull** : No man
> 
> **Skull** : that’s not what it means
> 
> **Queen** : We’re getting off topic here.
> 
> **Queen** : If I understand it correctly, you want Okumura to come with us because you’re worried she might go in alone?
> 
> **Crow** : Are you not? That is exactly what I would do in her place.
> 
> **Crow** : I do not think she is all that different from us
> 
> **Crow** : She does not necessarily have to be on the frontlines
> 
> **Crow** : With Robin Hood I can ensure she’ll be safe
> 
> **Queen** : And Loki?
> 
> **Joker** : He’s gotten way better at controlling him
> 
> **Fox** : As long as Loki doesn’t appear, I trust @Crow to take care of Okumura.
> 
> **Oracle** : I’ll keep an eye on her stats too.
> 
> **Oracle** : @Queen or Mona should stay in the back too to heal her if she needs it
> 
> **Panther** : You guys are all kinda assuming she’ll be terrible huh?
> 
> **Skull** : She is gonna be new
> 
> **Fox** : I agree with @Panther on this.
> 
> **Fox** : We all learned to use our persona quite quickly
> 
> **Fox** : Let us not assume she is incompetent due to lack of experience.
> 
> **Joker** : I think she should come with us
> 
> **Joker** : She might turn out to be more powerful than any of us
> 
> **Joker** : Anyone against it?
> 
> **…**
> 
> **Crow** : I’ll once again assume that the silence is enough.

* * *

A couple of days later, Goro gets a text from Okumura telling him that she’ll be coming to Leblanc once school is over. During class, he asks the Phantom Thieves if they’re available, and luckily, no one seems to have anything planned that can’t be cancelled at the last minute.

They all meet in Leblanc before the heiress’ shows up, but it doesn’t take long for her to come by.

Despite the café being completely empty, they have their meeting upstairs in the attic, which is why it’s Ren who shows the new girl to the room, “welcome to our super-secret base.”

Okumura smiles, “Oh, this is very quaint! I really like it!”

Ryuji grins, “It’s definitely way less of a shithole than it was when he first arrived, that’s for sure,” he points to the inhabitant of the attic.

Ren confirms it with a nod while getting a chair for Okumura, “I got trinkets and stuff from these guys to make it look better. I’m Ren, by the way, leader of the Phantom Thieves and current lodger of this ‘shithole’,” he quotes Ryuji.

“I’ve forgotten to introduce myself!” Okumura realises with a gasp, “My name is Okumura Haru… but if you are all going by first names, then I do not mind if you use mine as well.”

Ann smiles, “We don’t really care about that kinda stuff. I’m Ann.”

“Yusuke,” the painter introduces himself and when he sees that Futaba’s too busy on her laptop, or possibly just feeling too awkward to introduce herself he does it for her, “The gremlin is Futaba.”

“Who are you calling a gremlin, Inari?!” Futaba snaps at him.

Ignoring them, Makoto goes next, “I am Niijima Makoto, but you may call me Makoto if you prefer.”

“Niijima…” Haru repeats quietly while looking up, but her face lights up when she seems to remember something, “Oh, you’re the student council president of Shuujin, are you not? I attended that school until recently, you were in the same year as me, yes?”

Makoto nods, “I’m a third year now, and I think I do remember you attending the school, yes.”

“I’m Ryuji,” the athlete butts in before the conversation can move away before he introduces himself, “Uh, guys? Where’s Mona?”

“Mona?” Haru repeats after him and Ren explains.

“My cat… Not-cat,” Ren corrects himself knowing that even without him being in the room, the definitely-not-a-cat is there with them in spirit and ready to kick his ass for that, “He looks like a cat but thinks he isn’t one, but he can talk to anyone who’s been to the Metaverse and helps us with Palaces and treasures. He’s part of the team too.”

“I see,” Haru accepts the explanation straight away, much to Ryuji’s surprise.

“Y-you… okay…” he doesn’t comment any further, “But yeah, d’you know where he went off to Ren?”

Ren nods, “He’s already waiting for us in the Palace, I asked him to scout ahead and let us know if we can even enter the Palace straight away or if we’re gonna run into an obstacle… we almost did last time Goro and I went there.”

Goro nods, “Yes, good thinking Ren, and if Morgana hasn’t gotten back to us yet then we can assume nothing will immediately stand in our way… that being said, there is another advantage to bringing Haru with us. You have access to everywhere in Okumura Foods, correct?”

Haru nods, “My father has given me a special card which allows me to access all of the facilities in the company in an effort to have me learn as much about it. Will that affect that world?”

“It’s very likely that it will, yes,” Goro confirms, “In which case,” he looks over to Ren, “I leave going there to you, leader.”

Ren nods with a hum, “Let’s go,” he pulls out his phone and activates the app with the words already put into the MetaNav.

BEGINNING NAVIGATION

* * *

As soon as they’re through, Mona is already there waiting for them, but the monster cat isn’t what grabs their attention. Instead, they’re all turned towards the newcomer whose mask catches their attention.

“Hey… Crow…” Skull speaks up first, “Didn’t you call that culprit the, uh, ‘black mask’?”

Crow too glances at Haru and takes note of her mask but shakes his head, “I didn’t quite expect to run into someone else with a mask of that colour, but yes. However, Haru’s costume is far more different from that of the culprit I’m after.”

“You’re not here to change my fathers heart?” Haru concludes from that.

Crow quickly shakes his head, “No, no we are here for that, but it is best that you know that there is someone else who uses the Metaverse for evil, and they happen to be wearing a very specific Black Mask… although to be more precise it really is part of a helmet. Regardless, when I first ran into them it is the key detail I noticed and since they did not provide me with a name, that is how I have been referring to them.”

“I see,” Haru nods and asks another question, “You called him Crow,” she points out when speaking to Skull, “Does that mean you use codenames here?”

Fox steps in this time for the explanation, “We are Phantom Thieves who wear masks to steal treasures, they would be redundant if we all called each other by our real names, so in this world we have chosen codenames for ourselves.”

“Actually, we probably should’ve thought of one before coming in here, huh?” Panther asks, “Oh well, we can just do that now!”

Queen speaks up, “I’ll run through everyone else’s names if it will help. I’m Queen, that’s Fox, Oracle, Panther, Skull, Mona, Joker and Crow,” she points to everyone as she goes through their names.

Haru hums while she tries to come up with a name. She touches her mask and gasps when something comes to her, “Would Noir be alright? It is the French word for black, but I think it suits me quite well as the Thieves turn to the darker side of the law.”

Joker nods, “Noir’s good,” he walks over to her and hands her to specific items, a battle axe and what appears to be a grenade launcher, “don’t worry, they’re fake, but the Shadows here don’t know that. They’ll help you survive if you can’t use your persona for whatever reason, but while we’re here, I want you to stick close to Crow and Mona behind the rest of us, alright?”

Noir nods while taking the items from him, “Very well, I will follow your lead.”

Joker turns his back to her, putting his hands back in his pockets, “That’s everything, right? Let’s go.”

* * *

Noir turns out to be more than capable while the Thieves infiltrate the fortress. Any time they reach a gate blocking their path, it opens up the second she steps forward. The Shadows even seem to be more drawn to her than to anyone else, but with Milady’s help she swiftly takes care of them.

In the end, Joker ends up having Noir on the frontlines with him, noticing how redundant it was to keep her back there when all of the Shadows try to fight her anyway. In a safe room, Crow himself asks Joker quietly to keep him in the back while Skull, Panther and Oracle are fighting over chocolates Joker brought with him. He’d rather conserve his energy for the possibility of running into Okumura’s shadow, or any other cognition that might react aggressively to them showing up.

Inevitably, just as with Futaba’s and Kaneshiro’s shadows, the Palace ruler takes notice of their presence after a particularly tough battle against a Scathach and comes down to see what exactly was interrupting the work in his fortress.

Shadow Okumura showing up in full green camo combat gear along with a helmet and green-blue skin isn’t something Crow ever expected to see, but it’s completely on theme with the rest of this place.

“Haru?!” He shouts, immediately recognising his daughter behind the mask, “What are you doing running around with these thieves?!”

Queen grabs onto her arm when she tries to step forward, but Noir shakes her head, “It’s alright, Queen,” Crow hears her reply quietly, and Queen lets her go. Noir walks in front of the Phantom Thieves and points accusingly at her father’s shadow, “You cannot keep me trapped forever, father! I cannot allow you to mistreat your employees any further for my sake!”

Okumura’s Shadow shakes his head, “You’re too young to understand, my dear Haru… but if you will not listen to me, then perhaps there is someone else who can convince you to stay away from these dangerous people.”

The general moves out of the way to make space for another soldier to step in between him and the Phantom Thieves. He’s different from the other soldier Shadows, with clearly defined facial features and gear that makes him look like a higher-ranking soldier than the others.

“Colonel Sugimura, please, bring my daughter back to me safely. You can kill the others, they are nothing more than distractions,” the general tells him before leaving the soldier to the fight.

The soldier smirks, “Of course, I wouldn’t let peasants like this interfere.”

Noir shakes her head and takes a step back, “N-no… I won’t let you! You are not the boss of me! Milady!” She calls forth her persona and her mask disappears. Guns appear from under Milady’s dress and shoot at the cognition, but it has little effect on the soldier who pulls out his own gun and tries shooting at everyone but Noir.

“Who’s this guy?!” Skull shouts as he tries to take cover.

“Questions later! Johanna!” Queen removes her mask and her bike appears bellow her.

“Robin Hood!” Crow shouts, pulling off his own mask so that the persona can provide cover fire with his arrows of light.

Queen drives right up to Sugimura and turns at the last second, which covers the cognition in her nuclear attack. It isn’t enough to down him, and he tries to shoot at her. Just in time, Fox calls forth Goemon and creates a wall of ice between her and Sugimura, saving her from the hit.

“Carmen!” Crow hears Panther shout from across the room, and her fire attack burns a hole in the wall of ice Fox created. It gives Joker the opportunity to us his own persona,

“Pale Rider!” Joker shouts and tries to hit Sugimura with a curse attack.

When it hits, he stumbles back a little and leaves an opening for Mona and Skull to use their personas in unison, which brings Sugimura to his knees.

As a final attack, Noir summons Milady once more and tries to hit him with a psychic attack. This attack destroys the cognition entirely, and the shadow turns to dust.

When their masks reappear and no other Shadows come by, Noir hesitantly turns around, “H-he’s still alive in the real world… r-right?”

Mona runs over to the girl, “It was just a cognitive version of that guy, the real version of him won’t know anything about what happened here… but… uh, who was that guy anyway?”

“He… he is my betrothed,” Noir looks away.

“Betrothed?!” Panther, Skull, Queen and Oracle all shout at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah thank you everyone for your kind words and kudos!
> 
> I want to try and answer all of your comments but I also don't want to spoil anything for the story, so if I don't reply or leave very short replies it's because I really want to try and keep things secret, but know that I love reading them and squeal at every single one I get! (That's not an exaggeration, I have actually squealed at comments in the past and will probably continue to do so)


	25. Beautiful Betrayal

Everyone quietly waits in Ren’s attic room for Haru to begin with her explanation. They let her take her time, and no one in the room tries to press forward when she chooses to drink her coffee instead of speaking.

In the meantime, Goro leans against the back wall of the attic with Ren standing close by and everyone else sitting at the table. Ren leans closer to his boyfriend so the rest can’t hear them, “I’m still sorry about not telling you about Niijima’s laptop.”

Goro sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose with his gloved hands, “I’ve moved past it, Ren. What’s done is done, and as long as you meant it when you said you’d clue me in next time then we’ll be okay,” he leans away from the wall and walks past Ren, over to Haru, now going back to regular speaking voice, “We have already decided to infiltrate your fathers palace, Haru. We understand if you need some more time to warm up to us.”

Ryuji smirks, “Hell, this guy hasn’t even told us his story yet,” Ryuji points to Goro with his thumb, “Uh, mostly anyway.”

Makoto rolls her eyes, “I think the point Ryuji is trying to make is that we don’t want to make you feel like we’re prying into your past too much. Share only as much as you’re comfortable with, Haru.”

Haru nods and takes another sip of the coffee before speaking, “No, if it will help with this Palace then I believe I should share as much as I can. If I understand correctly, Goro has informed you all of my circumstances?”

Ren nods, “We know you used to go to Shuujin but after your mum died your dad made you come back home for home schooling. That’s all we really know…”

Haru nods, “Yes, that is correct. He wishes the best for me, and I’m certain he does this out of love, but at times he goes too far. Although, saying it out loud does make me sound quite spoilt, doesn’t it?”

Makoto shakes her head, “Caring for someone too much isn’t always a good thing,” she reassures her, “It can lead many to act irrationally given the situation.”

Yusuke joins in, “It explains why your father’s palace takes the form of a fortress. His company and the influence that comes from it is what keeps you safe in his eyes. Although a fortress is hardly a place to keep your loved ones safe in the long term.”

Haru smiles gently in appreciation, “Thank you for understanding.”

Once the heiress sets down her cup of coffee, Morgana jumps into her lap, resulting in a small yet delighted ‘oh’ sound coming from her, “So, who was that Sugimura guy? How does having a fiancé fit into this?”

Haru begins to stroke the cat, who tenses up at first but relaxes after only a few pats. Goro glances over to Ren who’s just barely hiding his jealously of how quick Morgana was allowing a newcomer to pet him. The Phantom Thieves don’t seem to take notice of it, but Goro certainly does.

“My father knows he won’t be around forever to keep me safe… Sugimura is his insurance that no harm will ever befall me, but he does not see past the pleasantries. My father believes that Sugimura will always be there to protect me, he does not see that all he is interested in is my fathers money and having a wife of a high social status… it is why my father wishes for us to get married in a months’ time, October 11th.”

Ann’s eyes widen, “What?!” she jumps out of her seat, “That’s insane! They’re not even treating you like a person anymore, just some glass doll to pass along!”

“Ann, volume, please,” Makoto says and it’s enough for the blond girl to calm down a little for Haru’s sake, “Although I can't say I don’t feel the same way. It’s disgusting, but it’s just more reason for us to steal the treasure, right?”

Ren agrees, “Right, we just have a deadline now.”

Futaba chortles in the background, sitting on his bed with her laptop in front of her, “Hee hee hee… well, I don’t think that’ll be too hard now that we’ve got a map with us!”

Ryuji raises an eyebrow, “A map? When did you pick up a map?”

Futaba shakes her head, “I didn’t, just… y’know how I can sometimes scan floors in Mementos and map it all out? I tried doing that in a Palace before, but it didn’t work… until this one! I think I’ve got the entirety of the first floor mapped out and at least half of the second. Passing through that should be a breeze.”

“That’s… useful,” Ren inputs.

Ann smiles, “It’s totally useful! We’ll be able to run through and steal Okumura’s treasure in no time! But before that… Well, it’s just curiosity so you don’t have to answer this,” she says, turning to Haru, “Have you tried talking to him about how you feel? Surely if you told him you’re unhappy with getting married he’ll listen, right?”

Haru looks down at the floor, “He thinks that I do not know what will truly make me happy, even if it is something I do not like to think about now, a conventional marriage and family to someone ‘worthy’ of me is what should make me happy… in his mind anyway. And to be honest…” she trails off, and only continues after brief pause, “I believe it would make him happy as well. I do not condone his actions in the slightest, but he is my father after all… I do not want to disappoint him.”

It’s Yusuke who looks away from everyone this time when he speaks his mind, “It is completely understandable to want to stick up for and impress a loved one, even if what they are doing is unjust,” he looks directly at Haru when he turns his head again, “You should not feel ashamed for having such conflicting emotions, it’s natural.”

Goro puts a hand on her shoulder, “We leave the decision to you. You came to us about changing your fathers’ heart, however. Would it be wrong to assume that your mind has not changed since?”

Haru looks up, determination spreading across her expression, “My resolve is unwavering on this issue. If it will bring me back the father I once knew, I will do anything to get him to see his wrongdoings in a new light.”

* * *

Goro decides to stay while everyone else leaves, and seeing this, Morgana chooses to leave with Futaba once she gets all of her bearings.

Its only when they both hear the doors of Leblanc shutting with the chime of the bell downstairs does Goro explain himself, “If it is alright with you… I would like to stay overnight once more. I could use the break,” he removes his gloves and begins rubbing his eyes. The light make-up he had on smears a little, showing Ren the dark circles under his eyes.

Ren nods, pulling out a second pair of pyjamas he had specifically set aside for such an occasion, “I’m guessing that briefcase of yours doesn’t have clothes for tonight or tomorrow?”

Goro nods, “It was a spontaneous decision, yes.”

Ren gives him a worried look and guides the detective to sit on his bed, “Somethings troubling you, and I know it’s more than just me fucking things up. So, care to share?”

Goro shifts around on the bed until his back is leaning against the wall, “I’ve never been able to sleep completely soundly, it’s why you often find me drinking coffee in Leblanc and why I always have dark circles under my eyes. I avoid sleeping as much as I can, partly for work, but mostly to avoid the nightmares.”

“Never? Not even in your childhood?” Ren asks, voice sombre.

“Hah!” Goro can’t help but let out a laugh, “I would hardly call what I had a childhood. Have I told you about my circumstances before?”

Ren shakes his head, “Not really, no, but I don’t mind you taking your time if that’s what you need.”

Goro shakes his head, “No, it’s about time I share this and you’re the first person I’m comfortable with telling anything… heh,” he chuckles, “You really are special, Ren, to have this natural ability to let those around you confess to their darkest secret.”

“It’s a curse and a blessing really,” Ren grins, moving closer to him on the bed, “So, what’s your deepest darkest secret?”

Goro’s smile slowly drops as he begins his story, “It’s a long story but… I’m the bastard son of a woman who had some affiliation with a politician. He did an excellent job covering up all ties to me, so I never learned his name, and my mother did not share it before she was murdered.”

“Murdered?” Ren looks surprised, then suddenly worried, “Don’t tell me-,”

Goro nods, “I was the one to discover the body, yes, and it’s why I’m certain it wasn’t suicide as the police had claimed at the time… she… wasn’t content with life, and in her eyes I could see that my face only brought back the memories of her mistakes, and being the mother to a bastard son couldn’t have been easy for her, but I’m almost certain she wouldn’t have killed herself because of it.”

Ren silently nods while looking in Goro’s eyes to show his interest in what he has to say. Goro continues unprompted, “I was passed between various foster homes and orphanages, some better, some far, far worse. My fate didn’t stop me from trying to uncover who murdered my mother, but a child such as myself had very limited sources. Up until a year ago when I obtained my ability and an opportunity to better my life.”

Ren raises an eyebrow, “But with how famous you are, how haven’t I heard of this before? The murder I mean.”

Goro shakes his head, “I don’t make my past public knowledge, you know. If the public were to find out about my past, how do you think I would be treated? Even to this day orphans are considered sub-human; I could never admit to that.”

“You told me before that you had your police files censored…” Ren says, “Is that everything you did?”

Goro shakes his head again, “I needed to disappear and make a new name for myself. The only other person aware of my past is Sae-san, as she helped make me into who I am today. Everything else, well, it’s all just fake. But… it feels good to tell you all of it,” Goro finally looks up to him and smiles, “the concept of confessing is quite underrated.”

Ren chuckles, “So, is Akechi Goro not your name then?”

Goro shrugs, “It is now, whether it has always been that… well, I’ll leave that for you to decide,” Goro winks and Ren chuckles again.

“Guess you can’t give away all your secrets, huh?”

“I have to leave some level of mystery to our relationship, Ren,” Goro smiles and shifts closer to him now that he’s done with his story, “I’ve explained my past,” he cuddles up to Ren, “Will you indulge me and explain yours?”

Ren shrugs, “It’s not that interesting to be honest. Was born in a small town where nothing ever happened, parents didn’t really care for what I did all that much, one day I stopped some random drunk asshole from assaulting a woman, he tripped over and sued me for it, parents got pissed off for disrupting their peace and sent me here so they’d never have to see my face again,” he explains as if he were listing things off, all emotion gone from his voice, “Pretty sure you can figure out the rest.”

Goro sits up, “Sued you for something you didn’t do? Ren, that isn’t right, I could probably look into it and-,”

“Don’t, please,” Ren insists, “Seriously, it won’t be worth the trouble you might get into. The guy managed to get away with covering up his name and didn’t even come to the trial. He’s got friends in high places, and if he catches wind of someone sniffing around, I’m pretty sure even you’ll get in trouble.”

Goro clenches his fist, mood changed from upset to extremely pissed off. It was far too easy for cruel adults to mess with the lives of innocent teenagers as they pleased. It’s something Goro’s been able to get away from by acting just as slimy as they do, but no child should feel like he or Ren does… but Ren sounds more serious than ever, and Goro has to respect those boundaries, “I hate this… but if you’re so insistent on it, then very well.”

“Thank you,” Ren smiles gently and pulls his boyfriend closer to him, “Besides, if that guy hadn’t gotten me kicked out of my house, I probably never would’ve met you or any of the others.”

Getting more comfortable, Goro turns around and puts his head in Ren’s lap, who begins to thread his fingers gently through his hair. Goro closes his eyes and breathes deeply, “Did you not have any friends back home?”

He feels Ren shrug, “sure but they were more classmates than friends. They all pretty much turned their backs on me as soon as the trial ended so… let’s just say I’m not in a hurry to leave Tokyo. Anyway…” he tries to change the topic awkwardly, “You feeling any better now?”

Goro smiles with his eyes still shut, “I believe I will sleep soundly tonight, yes.”

* * *

True to Oracle’s word, the Phantom Thieves storm through the Palace, using all of the hidden passageways to get to the top of a tower in the fortress where the treasure lay, at least, according to Mona. Leaving only sending out the calling card and actually stealing the treasure left.

From past experiences, Goro has no doubt that Okumura’s Shadow will stop at nothing to keep his treasure and kill the intruders, which is why he insists on having everyone else prepare themselves for the fight, and while many of the others shrug off his worries, Ren backs him up on it.

The evening before the heist, Goro finds himself sipping on his personalised coffee at Leblanc, the most calming setting he can be in, and when someone sits down at the counter next to him, he expects it to be Ren. To his surprise and disappointment, it’s not him but the uptight student council president herself.

“If you’re here to see Ren, he and Morgana are in Shinjuku right now,” Goro informs her before taking another sip.

“Shinjuku?” Makoto asks, raising an eyebrow, “What could he possibly be doing in Shinjuku?”

Goro sets down the coffee cup with a clink while Sojiro works on Makoto’s cup of coffee, “Either talking to a reporter, working at a bar there or talking to a fortune teller. He wouldn’t explain why he keeps on talking to a reporter when he could simply come to me, and when I asked about the fortune teller he merely shrugged. As for the job, supposedly it pays well.”

Makoto smiles sombrely, “You seem to know his schedule quite well.”

“We’ve been texting frequently,” Goro explains, “But if that hasn’t gotten you to leave, I’m assuming Ren isn’t the reason why you’re here?” He deduces, “Won’t your sister worry about your whereabouts this late?”

Makoto scoffs at that remark, “You of all people should know she’s not home right now.”

Goro shakes his head, “I wouldn’t, actually. I haven’t been seeing your sister all that much and when I last ran into her, we, ah… we had a slight difference of opinion.”

“You argued with her,” Makoto rephrases for him and he agrees before lowering his voice.

“I disagreed with her investigation methods and she snapped back at me for comparing her to the Phantom Thieves. As hypocritical as it was, I stand by what I said. She is a prosecutor after all, I’m just a student,” Goro lifts up his cup of coffee to take another sip.

Sojiro places a freshly brewed cup in front of Makoto, who thanks him for it, then goes back to watching the news on TV and completely ignoring their private conversation, “You’re a public figure who works part time as a detective, if anything your opinion has even more value than hers in the eyes of the public. How, then, can you call her methods unjust when yours are far from legal?”

“I separate my private life from my public one. What I do with you, Ren and everyone else is not something I talk about in public, nor do I use it to boost my popularity,” Goro’s voice wavers from his practiced calm attitude, “Sae-san is using her questionable to push her investigation into the Phantom Thieves, I use my methods to determine the truth for myself.”

Makoto sighs, not out of defeat but rather from wanting to move on from the conversation, “If that’s what you think, then fine. It might come as shock to you, but I didn’t approach you to pick another fight.”

“Is that so?” Goro looks straight ahead at the shelf with various coffee beans, “That didn’t go very well I’d say.”

He sees Makoto grip her coffee cup with more force than necessary in the corner of his eye, “I came here to call for a truce between us. After what you and Ren said in regard to Okumura’s Palace, I think this petty rivalry we have is pointless and one day it might just end up killing us all if we’re not careful enough.”

It’s Goro’s turn to scoff this time, “Unlike you, Makoto, I can be professional when the time arises and put our petty differences aside.”

“You say in the most petty way possible,” Makoto points out, and Goro hates just how much he agrees with her on that, “I’m not saying we should be friends, or that we even have to tolerate each other, all I’m asking for is mutual respect. That’s hardly asking too much.”

There are two thoughts that come to Goro’s mind, but he refrains from saying them. The first intrusive thought is that he thinks too little of the student council president to think of her as a rival- Ren was far closer to that than she could ever be. The second is that no matter their differences, arguing between the two isn’t going to get them killed.

However, he does agree with her that it’s in everyone’s best interest for the two to get along, regardless of their opinions of each other, so once he finishes his coffee, he sets it down, pays for it and picks up his briefcase, “It’s not asking too much, no. I’ll be as cordial with you as I can be when we’re indulging in our after-school activities, just as long as you stop treating me like an outsider to the group.”

Makoto nods, “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

* * *

There’s a noticeable change in the Palace the next day when Okumura’s Shadow has clearly put his soldiers on high alert, however, with their infiltration of the Palace, it’s easy enough for the Phantom Thieves to sneak past the Shadows and into the safe room nearest the top of the tower, where the treasure lay.

“Alright,” Mona announces, standing atop the table in the middle of the room, “Everyone’s clear on our objective, right?”

Joker turns to his team, “Skull, Panther, Fox, the four of us are on the frontlines until we reach the treasure, everyone else, stay at the back and let me know if you see something alarming. Clear?”

“Clear,” everyone replies in unison, and so, Joker’s team leaves first, Oracle shortly following behind and the remaining four leaving last.

There’s only one guard standing outside of the room, one that spots the first team immediately. Joker attacks him first before the other gets a chance, and with his latest persona fusions, Joker disposes of him in a couple of swift moves by calling forth Titania.

With the guard out of the way, the group steps inside, Crow asking Oracle to keep an eye on their only exit.

The room itself is massive, with large, barred windows looking out to the rest of the fortress. On top of a large table with a map over it. On top of Japan is what appears to be a figurine, a place holder of sorts, one that looks exactly like Haru in the real world.

“So, this is what I am to him,” Noir looks down, “Am I just a pawn to my own father…?”

Mona shakes his head, running over to the treasure to pick it up, “You’re his most prized possession, the pawn in his game he wants to protect the most.”

“Speaking of,” Panther brings up the elephant in the room- or lack thereof, “Where is Okumura? Wouldn’t he want to keep us as far away from this as possible?”

Queen agrees, “He’s planning something, we need to make sure we’re not caught in his trap.”

“The lack of guards here only leads me to think he’s preparing the rest of his soldiers for something much larger,” Crow adds then turns to Joker, “Regardless, we’ve secured the treasure. There is no need for us to loiter here any longer.”

Joker hums in agreement and leads the Thieves out of the room while entrusting the treasure-obsessed monster-cat to look after the treasure itself until they leave the Palace.

Running down the same path as before proves to be much harder, as the doors through which they ran close before they can leave, leading them only in one direction. It’s an obvious trap that’ll lead them directly to Okumura, but it’s one Joker is forced to fall into when all of their exits are closed off.

The path leads them out into a courtyard, and just as predicted, Okumura’s Shadow is waiting for them there with his army standing behind him, guns all pointed at the Thieves.

“Dammit,” Crow hears Skull mutter under his breath, “Asshole set us up to come here.”

Okumura’s Shadow extends his hand out to Joker, “I’m not an unreasonable man, as hard as that may be for you to think. Hand over the piece and I may just let you live. Having more bodies to my name may prove… troubling.”

“More?” Noir gasps at the insinuation.

“How many died because of your hideous acts?” Fox asks, but Crow steps in and shakes his head.

“No, he’s not talking about his company,” Crow deduces, “You’re talking about the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns, aren’t you? You’re the one behind them!”

Okumura’s Shadow begins pacing in front of his soldiers, “I did what I had to do to protect my family, to protect my daughter. If trampling over the lives of those beneath us shielded my dearest Haru from this world, then I will do just that.”

Noir steps forward, but Fox holds his arm out, making sure she doesn’t get too close, “If murder is the extent, you’re willing to go to for my protection, then I want nothing to do with you or this company! How could I possibly be safe in the hands of someone who’s willing to hire an assassin to do all of their dirty work?!”

Okumura’s Shadow stops his pacing and snarls at the group, “You’re too young to understand now, my child, and these Thieves are just poisoning your mind,” he clenches his fist, “I will not let that stand any longer,” he briefly glances over to his daughter, “You will forgive me in time, I guarantee it,” he steps away from the army, no longer standing between them and the Thieves, “Fire!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am alive!!!  
> I ended up having a creative block from the shit ton of stress going on in my life, but like 90% of my problems got resolved today with one email that I was waiting for for months now which apparently lifted that block! So here I am with more story and more cliffhangers!  
> Next up- Okumura boss fight


	26. Coup de Grace

“Milday!”

“Loki!”

“Okuninushi!”

The second the Shadows begin to shoot, Noir, Crow and Joker step in front of everyone else to block the gun attacks, saving their friends. Some shots do make it past the three, but when Fox and Mona are hit, Panther and Queen are quick to heal.

Noticing how ineffective the attack is, Okumura’s Shadow shouts other commands at his soldiers over the gunfire. The Thieves take this opportunity to attack the front row soldiers, each thief throwing out an attack of their own.

The only ones that seem at all effective are Panther’s and Mona’s fire and wind attacks, and seeing this, both Joker and Crow switch their tactics. With Loki still out, Crow sends a fire attack at a lone soldier left on the right side of the battlefield while Joker switches masks, “Scathach!”

The first ten soldiers are completely obliterated when Joker sends out one final fire attack, but the soldiers behind the front row barely seem to be affected by the flames. They rank higher as shown by the badges on their chests, and they step forward to take the place of the fallen soldiers.

Each one pulls out a knife and runs at the Phantom Thieves, who pull out their own weapons to block the attacks. When Joker manages to stop a soldier from stabbing him, he looks over in Crows and Oracles direction, “Do either of you have any ideas?”

From the inside of Necronomicon, Oracle heals Crow when he’s cut by one of the soldiers, “I’ll try to stay on healing for now, these guys are completely unpredictable!”

Crow thanks her for the healing, but disagrees with her statement, “No, I don’t think this battle is completely one-sided. They all have a weakness; we must simply be on the lookout for them! Robin Hood!” He tries to hit the soldier in front of him with a bless attack, but it does nothing.

The soldier uses the opportunity to lunge at Crow, raising his knife up in the air. Crow reaches for his lightsabre but t’s already too late as the soldier forces it down.

“Byakko!” Crow hears Joker shout, and the persona appears between him and the soldier, sending a powerful ice attack out which not only freezes Crow’s opponent, but the other soldiers fighting the rest of the Phantom Thieves as well.

“Go Joker!” Oracle shouts, cheering them on, “Looks like they’re weak to ice, use that to your advantage!”

Hearing this from their navigator, Fox steps forward and summons his own persona while the soldiers are still unable to move, “Kamu Susano-o!” The second ice attack is devastating enough to wipe out the shadows in their way, making the path for the next soldiers, once again, higher ranking than the previous ones.

“Just how many of these assholes are there?!” Skull complains, “Shouldn’t we be looking for a way out instead.”

Queen, who stands near him, seems to agree, “We have no idea just how large his army is, we may run out of stamina before we defeat them all and I’m fairly certain the higher-ranking soldiers will be immune to physical attacks.”

“Joker,” Mona turns to their leader, “We can probably hold off these guys with just eight of us, should we send someone out to look for a way out?”

“We already have the treasure!” Panther encourages the idea.

Joker contemplates the idea while the next row of soldiers prepares for another attack, and eventually, he looks down at the cat, “Mona, I’m trusting you with this, okay?”

Mona nods once and jumps away from the Thieves, running back to the way they came in.

Without hesitating, Skull and Queen pull off their masks to fight the enemies ahead, “Anat!”

“Seiten Taisei!”

The two personas unleash their electric and nuclear attacks, giving the Thieves a chance to strike back when this proves to be an effective move. The soldiers in the next row appear to be far burlier and dangerous looking than the other soldiers they’ve seen before, but it’s not enough to scare the Phantom Thieves off, “Keeping attacking them!” Joker commands while reaching for his mask to pull it off and summon yet another persona, “Power!”

The angel-like persona appears and sends a wave of bless attacks at the next line of enemies, which seems to inflict some damage. However, these soldiers are just as powerful as they look, and despite the initial setback, they charge at the Thieves.

“Robin Hood!” Crow summons his persona again, who begins to shoot at the enemies using his bow and arrow. The bless arrows seem to slow down the charging soldiers, but they do not back down.

From where he’s standing, Okumura’s Shadow laughs, “You didn’t honestly believe I sent out those weaker soldiers thinking they’d kill you, did you? Kill them, no mercy!” He shouts at his soldiers. The taunt flies over the Phantom Thieves heads as just that, but Crow sees it as something else and halts the Thieves movements.

“Wait! Using our magic is exactly what he’s expecting us to do!” He informs the others, “He’s got thousands of employees at Okumura Foods, so for all we know he has an abundance of soldiers in this world as well!”

Skull holds his club out in front of him to block any incoming attacks from the charging soldiers, “So what? We’ve already got someone looking for a way out!”

“And if everywhere is blocked off?” Crow asks, “We’re trapped here.”

“Do you have a plan, Crow?” Fox asks, shielding himself from an incoming attack with his katana.

To earn himself some time, Crow runs behind the rest of the group and looks around the battlefield. While Okumura’s Shadow knew exactly where they were it would be impossible to escape, and even obscuring his view briefly might not be enough if he has surveillance all over the Palace. Leaving one, if risky solution.

“We have to trap him here somehow, and then make a run for it,” Crow suggests.

“What about changing his heart?” Panther asks, “Will it still work if we just steal the treasure?!”

Oracle seems to answer that, “It’s not like you guys ever intend to fight the Shadows, just that the Palace’s owner seems super persistent on keeping their treasure here!”

“Uh…” Skull stutters and hits a soldier on the head with his club. It’s not enough to do any real damage, but it does cause the soldier to stumble back a bit. Meanwhile, Queen and Noir step in front of Crow to defend him while he comes up with a plan for the group.

Queen ends up replying to Skull’s confusion, “She means we can probably just get away with stealing the treasure.”

“I leave the plan to you, Crow,” Noir says, “We’ll protect you to the best of our abilities, right?”

“Right,” Joker nods, once again reaching for his mask to summon a different persona, “Pazuzu!”

Crow once again looks around the battlefield to take note of what he could use for his trap. There are crates of high explosives around the place, but putting them near the shadow would risk killing him altogether, though putting the shadow in danger may be a solution. If Okumura believed that his employees would work themselves to death just to work for the company, then perhaps in this world they’d even go so far as to sacrificing themselves for their leader.

“I’ll need to find Mona, but I do have a plan,” Crow informs them, “Keep Okumura busy, and do not let him see me,” Crow asks, pulling off his mask so he can summon Loki and change his costume to his darker version. The white would make him standout far too much, even if he preferred that outfit.

Joker pulls out his gun and begins to shoot in Okumura’s Shadows direction, being careful to aim at his legs. It’s a move that not only distracts Okumura’s Shadow, but it proves Crow’s theory when the soldiers attacking the Thieves stop their assault and run to defend their general by jumping in front of the shots.

Crow uses the opportunity to run away from the fight, back to the entrance from which they arrived to find Mona. The monster cat isn’t too far from that entrance, instead trying to open a different door to no avail, “Mona, I require your help. I have a plan to get us out of this situation, but I require your cooperation and trust.”

Mona looks back to the Thieves, then over to Crow, “Well… if Joker okay-ed it then I’ll do what you ask me to. What’s the plan?”

“The explosives,” he points to the nearest crate, “I’ll need you to place them around all the door on this side of the building, and on my mark, I’ll need you to detonate them. Think you can do that?”

“Sounds pretty dangerous…” Mona trails off, glancing between the explosives, Crow, and the door, until eventually his eyes land on Crow and stay there, “But taking risks is what we do! Alright, just let me know when!”

The monster cat begins running between the crates and the door, setting down the explosive near and around the door. Now comes the harder part; setting another set of explosives in such a way as to block Okumura’s Shadow and the soldiers from seeing where the Thieves were going, all the while being careful to not kill either Okumura or the Thieves.

There’s a wall behind Okumura, but he has no guarantee that the falling debris won’t crush him, nor that it would even block the path. Mona’s explosions would only blow off the door and maybe parts of the wall making way for their exit, but it would just result in Okumura’s Shadows chasing them down.

There’s one possibility, a tower standing behind both Okumura and the Thieves, far enough that the soldiers would have time to save Okumura from any falling debris, but close enough that it may get in the way as long as the Thieves were being careful too.

When Okumura’s Shadow is too focused on the Thieves, Crow runs across the field and over to the tower, picking up the explosives on the way. They’re fairly simplistic, Crow assumes from a lack of any real knowledge of explosives outside of what’s been shown on various media. All it requires is for him to place the explosives around the back of the tower and press the button on a remote once he’s ready.

He does just that, and when he’s finished, he runs back to the others, “Everyone, stand back and guard. Oracle, keep an eye on everyone’s stats,” Crow asks them, and after confirmation from Joker to follow Crow’s orders, the group jumps away from the soldiers and hold their weapons in front of them, “Mona, now!” Crow shouts to the monster cat, and they both press the button at the same time.

Just as the doors blow off their hinges on one side of the battlefield the tower begins to fall on the other. The soldiers run away from the thieves to protect their general just as predicted, but the top of the tower begins to crumble unexpectedly. Seeing this when she looks up, Queen notifies the others, “Everyone, scatter!”

Without hesitating, they follow her lead and run towards the doors just as the debris begins to fall.

When the boulders hit the ground, the dust on the ground rises up and covers the battlefield, stopping both the thieves and Okumura’s Shadow from seeing anything. Crow closes and shields his eyes, hearing what he assumes to be Joker summoning Okuninushi further away from him, and Crow follows his idea by using Loki to throw up a physical barrier. He has no idea whether it would protect him from the debris, but who knew when the soldiers might start shooting again?

When the dust finally settles, he finds that the only other person near him is Skull, while the rest are nowhere to be seen, “Is everyone safe?”

Crow looks around and over a boulder, seeing Okumura’s shadow in one direction and a path towards an exit in the other, “I’ll go look for the others, you go.”

“Wh- hell no! I’m not leaving you behind here!” Skull refuses but Crow insists that he leave.

“If you don’t go, the soldiers might find us again and this would have been all for nothing,” Crow explains himself, “I’ll make sure everyone is safe, you have my word.”

Hesitantly, Skull agrees and runs off towards the exit, and Crow begins to climb over the boulders, trying to lay low while he does it. Joker should be safe, he heard him summon a persona just a second ago. Mona has the treasure and he was closest to the doors, so Crow will know that the cat is safe when the Palace around him begins to crumble. Skull is safe as well, leaving Crow to find five of their other friends, but is reassured when he starts to hear their shouting, if a little worried that they’ll be caught.

“Is everyone okay?!” He hears Panther shout.

“I’m alive!” Oracle replies back from elsewhere.

“I too am safe,” Fox says.

“Same here!” Queen shouts, once again from a different place.

“As am I!” Noir replies.

“Then head to the exit, go!” Crow shouts at them, “We need to leave while we still can!”

With everyone seemingly alright without Crow needing to check on them, Crow turns around and can’t help but smirking that his plan worked seemingly without fail.

That is, until he hears a gunshot ring out throughout the battlefield, and when he turns to look in the direction of Okumura’s Shadow, he sees the cognition crumple to the ground and disappear into black mist.

* * *

Goro manages to get out just before the Palace crumples to the ground, and just when he renters the real world, his phone informs him that the location is gone. All he gets from the others is a glance to make sure he got out safely, after which they turn back to Ren who held the treasure in his hand. It’s not too different from the figurine in the Palace, but this one is far more detailed and made of glass. The figurine itself is quite similar to Haru, but there are a few differences, unlike the treasure they found within the Palace.

They’re talking about it, and about the fight and the explosions, but Goro isn’t listening to it, only hearing every fourth or fifth word. Instead he’s thinking back to that gunshot, desperately trying to place where it must’ve come from. He heard all the other voices beforehand, if he knew where the gunshot came from, he’d know who did it.

“I have to leave, but I’ll message you all later,” Goro tells them, emotion gone from his voice completely. He’ll blame it on fatigue later if they ask, but since they’re all tired and focused on something else, no one seem to question his actions any further.

He takes out his phone and dials one of the few numbers on his phone. The call sends him to voicemail, “I assume you’re busy right now, but this is urgent. I’ll be waiting for you in the courthouse in thirty minutes.”

* * *

Niijima is already waiting for him in her usual spot when Goro walks into the building, and he makes a beeline for her. Without waiting, he explains his distress, “I know who the next mental shutdowns victim will be. I’ve no idea when it will occur, but I’ve no doubt Okumura Kunikazu is the target.”

“Akechi, slow down,” Niijima insists, “What proof do you have of this? Why do you think he is being targeted?”

There’s no real world reason for him to explain how he knows the CEO will be the next target, and telling even Niijima that he knew about this because he saw someone shoot his cognitive self would make her question his sanity, “I… trust me on this. Through my own investigation I’ve deducted that Okumura is the next person who’s most likely to be targeted.”

“Interesting,” Niijima says, but it’s nowhere close to the tone Goro expected. She points to the laptop in front of her, “Because I came to the conclusion that it’s the Phantom Thieves who will target them next, and I was just tipped off that he did receive a calling card by the police. If you’re correct, wouldn’t that imply that the Phantom Thieves are the ones causing the mental shutdowns?”

“You…” Goro trails off, “You’re not bothered by what I’ve told you at all? Did you know he’d be targeted?”

“Targeted yes, but not that he’d be a victim of a mental shutdown,” Niijima informs him, “Without evidence there was nothing I could do, so I didn’t inform you of it. Which makes me wonder how you got the information.”

Goro knows exactly what she’s implying, but he of all people shouldn’t know about the stolen data off her laptop, so he keeps his mouth shut and acts surprised, “And what exactly is that meant to imply?”

“I noticed that some of my data was stolen off my laptop, specifically the data I had on Okumura Foods. With your own testimony just now, I‘m wondering if you’re the one who took it.”

Goro furrows his eyebrows, angry at how irrationally Niijima was behaving. This wasn’t Niijima, not the one who helped him uncover the truth behind his friends murder and not the one who he’d been working with over the past year, “I’m a detective, Niijima-san, it’s my job to investigate, and I would never debase myself to stealing data from a co-worker. I would hope you would know that.”

Niijima looks away from him, and back to the laptop, “Regardless, I have reason to believe that the Phantom Thieves have also targeted Principal Kobayakawa, and if what you’re saying is true then it should be a matter of time before you can get a warrant out on them.”

“Warrant on the Phantom Thieves?” Goro raises an eyebrow, “I never said they’re the ones who caused the mental shutdowns-.”

“Do you have proof that says otherwise?”

Goro clenches his fist, furious that instead of working to save another man’s life, Niijima would rather use the opportunity to catch the culprits she’d been after since June, “And if I don’t?”

“If you don’t, I expect you to be hailed as a hero in a months’ time when you do catch the Phantom Thieves,” Niijima says, “It’s what you’ve been working towards since the Madarame case, is it not?”

Goro nods, “Yes, but I refuse to arrest them on baseless accusations. They are not murderers, and I will ensure that whoever is behind this will face justice. Even if I must do it on my own,” Goro turns around and begins walking away, “Goodbye, Sae-san. Good luck with your investigation,” He says with bite in his voice.

* * *

> **Lupin:** Everything okay?
> 
> **Lupin:** You ran off earlier.
> 
> **Lupin:** You didn’t miss out on much.
> 
> **Lupin:** We’re thinking of celebrating our success, don’t really know where yet.
> 
> **Lupin:** Haru says she might have something.
> 
> **…**
> 
> **Lupin:** Goro?
> 
> **…**
> 
> **…**
> 
> **Lupin** : Sorry if you’re busy, I’m just worried.
> 
> **Lupin:** It’s been five hours since you left so
> 
> **…**
> 
> **Lupin:** Did you see something in the Palace?
> 
> **Holmes:** I would hold off on the celebration, Ren.
> 
> **Holmes** : Okumura is in trouble, but no one will believe me.
> 
> **Holmes:** If he suffers a mental shutdown, I will be tasked with arresting all of you.
> 
> **Holmes:** I
> 
> **Holmes:** I can’t talk right now
> 
> **Holmes:** Nor will I be able to in the coming days.
> 
> **Holmes:** I’m sorry, Ren.
> 
> **…**
> 
> **…**
> 
> **Holmes:** I fucked up.
> 
> **Holmes:** But I won’t let the Black Mask get the upper hand, not anymore.

Looking down at his phone, Goro switches to a different private chat.

> **Goro:** I need your help
> 
> **Goro:** But I need you to swear to secrecy on this matter.
> 
> …
> 
> **Goro:** The lives of the Phantom Thieves depend on it. Can I trust you with this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like the dumbass that I am I forgot to bring my laptop charger with me when visiting my parents for the Easter holidays but I really wanted to update this this weekend so here you go!
> 
> I apologise for any mistakes this time around in the rush to put this out, I will be fixing those when I finally charge my laptop cos editing from my phone is a pain.
> 
> Thank you so much for the kudos, comments and bookmarks! Happy Easter to those who celebrate it, and those who don’t- I hope you all had a lovely weekend!


	27. Facing the Facts

Going to the police proves to be as much of a waste of time as Goro expected, but at least now he can’t say he didn’t warn everyone when it comes to Okumura. He hopes to get some rest for the night, not planning to go to school the next day so he can figure out where to go on from there.

Instead, he wakes up in the middle of the night on the hard bed of the prison cell in the velvet room, where Caroline doesn’t waste time in hitting the bars with her metal baton to wake him up properly, “Hurry up! We don’t have time to stand around like this y’know!”

Rolling his eyes when he’s facing the wall, Goro sits up, then gets out of the bed so he can talk to Igor and figure out why he was summoned there to begin with.

On the other side of the bars, he finds Igor looking a little more disinterested than usual, “Have you finally caught on?”

Goro nods, “Someone set us up to go after Okumura on purpose, right?” He gets a nod from Igor, “It’s the Black Mask, or whoever he’s working for.”

“Hmm?” Igor glances up from the paper on his desk, a little more intrigued by his statement, “So then, it would seem as though you have figured out who the traitor in your group is, and yet, you worry that no one will believe you.”

Goro shakes his head, “Ren seems the most suspicious out of everyone… but I can’t bring myself to believe that it really is him. He’s certainly hiding something from me, but whether it’s that he’s the Black Mask or not is what I have yet to determine.”

“And what will you do once you discover the truth?”

Goro looks down at the ground, “It would depend on the truth. At the end of the day, I’m only looking for one thing, and I’m starting to think getting involved in all of this was a mistake.”

Caroline doesn’t stop herself from snorting at his comment, and Goro looks to her for clarification. Instead, it’s Justine who explains, “You may be a guest here, and perhaps your role in this game has more meaning now than it did originally, but it was never intended that way. You forced your way in here, and now do you truly believe there is a way out?”

Goro grips onto the bars, “You never even gave me a choice!”

Caroline hits the bars again, “All we said was that you have the most potential out of anyone we’ve ever had here to choose the right path for humanity, we never said you couldn’t just walk away from that responsibility altogether.”

“But it’s too late now,” Justine continues, “As I’m sure you feel it yourself. What will you do then, I wonder, when you discover the truth. Will you follow him blindly, or rehabilitate the world with the one who will save the souls of humanity?”

The sound of his alarm clock brings with it the sudden fatigue that it always did when he’s about to reawaken in the real world, “No…” he tries to hold onto the bars, “You… can’t…” he crumples to the floor before he manages to finish his sentence.

* * *

His first thought when he wakes up is to contact Ren, the other wildcard he knew of. Regardless of whether he was the Black Mask or not, he definitely must’ve had some access to the Velvet Room, meaning he also talked to Igor and the Twin Wardens. He hesitates with his thumb over his name, and eventually locks his phone again and sets it aside. Talking to Igor is the one thing Ren doesn’t know about, and who knows what someone who could be the Black Mask could do with that sort of information?

No, if he really has no way out, then he has to stop relying on Ren so much, at least until he has evidence pointing to the contrary.

He unlocks his phone and chooses to text someone else.

> **Goro:** Good Morning
> 
> **Goro:** Now I doubt you of all people are awake at this time
> 
> **Goro:** But I have another favour to ask.
> 
> **Futaba:** shoot.
> 
> **Goro:** Do you think it would be at all possible for you to get Morgana alone?
> 
> **Futaba:** What do you need Mona for?
> 
> **Goro:** Questioning.
> 
> **Futaba:** … you’ve really lost it huh?
> 
> **Goro:** I don’t think he’s the actual culprit.
> 
> **Goro:** But he may have some information pertinent to this case.
> 
> **Futaba:** Ehhh it'll be hard to get him away from Ren without it being suspicious
> 
> **Futaba** : If I do it then you're gonna have to be ready pretty quickly to talk to him.
> 
> **Futaba:** Just be ready to come to Yongen-Jaya sometime in the evening, k?
> 
> **Goro:** Will do.

* * *

That evening Niijima messages him to inform him of a sudden press conference Okumura had summoned, so Goro cancels his plans with Futaba in favour of watching that in case the paparazzi suddenly became interested in his opinion of the unfolding events. It was already common knowledge that the Phantom Thieves targeted Okumura, so regardless of what this press conference will hold, it’s going to be a blow to Goro, be it his reputation or his investigation.

He chooses to watch it in Leblanc, the place he’s least likely to be hunted down in by the media without him orchestrating it, and kindly asks Sojiro to switch on the TV when the time comes.

Just before the press conference begins, Ren walks into the café with Morgana in his bag, “I thought you were busy?” He questions the detective.

Goro nods, lifting up his cup of coffee, “Believe me when I say, I’m in the middle of doing my job right now. You and Morgana may want to take a seat for this,” he warns them while turning back to the TV.

Morgana murmurs something Goro doesn’t quite catch, but as a result, Ren lets him out of his bag and the cat jumps onto one of the chairs in front of Goro while Ren sits behind him. Sojiro keeps on leaning against the bar just as he was before, “What’s so interesting about this guy?”

“He is the CEO of Okumura Foods, and more importantly, the Phantom Thieves latest target,” Goro is quick to explain their interest in him, “Whether the Phantom Thieves succeeded or not will have quite the impact on my reputation, so I would much rather watch it here in the comfort of this establishment and friendly faces,” he sets down his coffee cup while Okumura begins his apology to the public.

It’s the same as the ones he’d seen and heard of before. Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro and now Okumura. To Goro, they’re all the same; selfish adults who think they can do whatever they want with whoever they please, targeting the weak because they knew they could get away with it. Even now as he watches Okumura on the verge of tears, Goro feels no sympathy, no pity for the man. The impact it may have on Haru has him a little worried.

“I have a critical piece of information I’d like to share with you all today.”

This perks up not only the detective, but Morgana as well, “He’s about to say who really was responsible for the mental shutdowns!”

Goro shifts in his seat, clutching hard onto the cup. Maybe nothing would happen, maybe he’d finally find out who the traitor is, maybe Okumura would be fine.

But that’s just wishful thinking, and he knows all too well that wishful thinking gets him nowhere.

“I-,” Okumura begins before clutching onto the front of his shirt. He knocks back a microphone with the other hand, causing feedback as he lurches his head backwards, shouting from the reporters taking over the sound feed, until suddenly he collapses forward, and everyone falls quiet.

A second later, he suddenly looks up, black goop seeping out of his mouth, eyes, nose and ears, until he collapses forward once more and the camera is cut off, with eerily cheerful music replacing it.

Goro’s already prepared himself to witness something like this, having seen it before in person, but the shock is clear on Sojiro’s expression, who excuses himself from the café for a moment, leaving with the sound of chiming bells.

Goro turns around to witness Ren’s reaction, which, somehow unsurprisingly, is blank and completely unreadable. Still, Goro tries to guess at what might be going through his head, “You’re not shocked by any of this?”

Ren shakes his head, “After what you texted me, I was worried something like this would happen,” he looks away from the TV and directly at Goro, “How did you know?”

Goro turns around to face the shelves of coffee beans behind the bar, “I saw Okumura’s shadow get shot and disappear. I wasn’t able to place the shooter, however, because I didn’t see them and I wasn’t certain of where the shot came from other than my left side. Where were you when the tower fell, Ren?”

“You think I shot him?” Ren asks him, “You know I can’t be the Black Mask because-.”

“Morgana,” Goro interrupts him by talking to the cat, “July 18th, you and Ren intervened just before I killed the Black Mask myself by knocking me out. The Black Mask ran away in fear of having to face all of the Phantom Thieves, after which you transformed and aided Ren in carrying me out of Mementos. Is this true?”

Morgana looks over to Ren, then back over to the detective, “Uh, yeah? But what has that got to do with anything?”

“It means you saw both Joker and the Black Mask as two separate entities, correct?” The cat nods, and Goro looks over to Ren, “I… apologise then, for doubting you. I-,” he looks down at his phone when it buzzes, and it keeps on buzzing when Niijima doesn’t stop messaging him, “I’m sorry, Ren. I really am but I have to leave and deal with this,” he drops the change for the coffee on the bar and gets out of his seat, picking his briefcase off of the bar while he’s at it, “As I have said before, I’ll put an end to all of this.”

He leaves the café and heads to the station as quickly as possible, missing the silence in Leblanc just before Morgana breaks it,

“Not that I trust Goro more than you but… why were you so insistent on me lying to him earlier? You’re not up to anything we don’t know about, are you?”

Ren gets out of his seat as well and heads upstairs, “And if I am, are you going to try and get in my way?”

* * *

> **Crow** : this may be at a bad time
> 
> **Crow** : But I will need you all to switch on the news if you haven't already

Goro pockets his phone just before the cameras switch on and he steps up onto a podium. He tests the microphones in front of him by tapping at them, and when he’s sure they work, he clears his throat and leans forward a little, “Good evening, I realise this is sudden, but by now you must’ve heard the news regarding Okumura-san… However, this is not why I have called for this press conference. Today, I would like to publicly announce my withdrawal from the official SIU Phantom Thieves investigation. Once this conference is over, I will no longer be speaking about the Phantom Thieves in public until everything is settled with the police.”

The reporters rise out from their chairs, each one trying to get his attention to ask him a question, and so, Goro points to one of them at random, “Yes?”

“There’s rumours that a calling card was involved in the latest scandal. Does this mean Okumura was targeted by the Phantom Thieves, possibly murdered by them?”

Goro shakes his head, “I cannot speak for what the police and SIU believes, but personally, I do not think they are the ones behind the attack. It doesn’t make sense for the Phantom Thieves to suddenly begin killing their targets rather than changing their hearts when that method hadn’t failed them before,” he looks over to a different reporter, “Yes?”

“Does that mean your stance on the Thieves has softened? Are you siding with them now?”

Once again, Goro shakes his head, “I disagree with their methods, and continue to believe that they are indeed a dangerous group that has been left unchecked for far too long. If my investigation proves that the Phantom Thieves are guilty of manslaughter, then I do think they should be arrested.”

“Does this mean you will continue to pursue them without the help of the SIU?” A reporter butts in.

“Yes,” Goro says without any follow up, and looks over to another reporter.

“Why did you decide to take such a drastic measure?”

Goro swallows before answering, “Prior to this I was concerned that such an incident may occur and yet no one heeded my warning. The police and SIU has proven to be completely incompetent and I can no longer rely on them. If they are wrong, I do not wish to be involved in any of it,” he replies and turns his head before nodding at another reporter.

“Do you have anyone you suspect currently, if not the Phantom Thieves?”

Goro pauses briefly, thinking over what he should say. He knows the Black Mask is watching this, they’d have to, but so are the Phantom Thieves, so is Sae Niijima, and Goro can only assume that whoever the Black Mask works for will hear of this in no time. He clears his throat once more, “The police currently do not have any suspects, and although I cannot say much on the matter, I do have a couple of key suspects, yes.”

There’s an uproar in the room when flashes from cameras shine directly at him, and reporters swarm to ask him questions, but he lifts his hand up in front of the microphone, “That is all I have time for right now, thank you very much for coming,” he bows, and leaves the podium.

His phone is vibrating in his pocket so much he worries it’ll make a hole in his coat, but he waits until he’s in a taxi that he called for earlier to look through them. There’s a few from Niijima but he ignores them completely. Most of the others are from the chat, but there are a few private messages as well.

> **Makoto** : My sister is furious with you
> 
> **Makoto** : She’s trying to contact you
> 
> **Makoto** : Do you know something she doesn’t?

He switches over to a different conversation.

> **Ryuji** : Duuuuuude
> 
> **Ryuji** : Are you for real?!
> 
> **Ryuji** : You can’t just drop a bombshell like that without telling us.

Then to another.

> **Lupin** : The others are kinda annoyed at you for not giving us a heads up
> 
> **Lupin** : I kinda get why you didn’t
> 
> **Lupin** : You don’t want to be seen with us much because you’re worried that the SIU is gonna think we’re guilty, huh?

He ignores all three and moves to the Phantom Thieves chat to send them all the same reply;

> **Crow** : Niijima-san already knows who you are
> 
> **Crow** : She believes you’re all guilty
> 
> **Crow** : And if we do not find the culprit soon, she will arrest all of you.
> 
> **Panther** : What?!
> 
> **Oracle** : She has no evidence!
> 
> **Queen** : Guys you have no idea what she’s like right now.
> 
> **Crow** : Makoto is right.
> 
> **Crow** : I’ll do what I can on my end.
> 
> **Crow** : But for now, I implore you to not do anything.
> 
> **Crow** : Do not enter the Metaverse, Palace or Mementos until this matter is sorted.
> 
> **…**
> 
> **Crow** : Understood?
> 
> **Joker** : Got it
> 
> **Skull** : you’re agreeing with him?!
> 
> **Queen** : Do you have a better idea?
> 
> **Fox** : Perhaps it is for the best we stay calm and think over all of this rationally
> 
> **Panther** : Where’s Haru? Shouldn’t she be here?
> 
> **Oracle** : I don’t think she’s gonna be looking at her phone.
> 
> **Oracle** : Not at a time like this.

* * *

When he returns to his apartment, there’s a surprise waiting for him on his door in the form of a taped-on note. He pulls it off and slowly reaches for the door handle,

‘Don’t freak out this time, but I’m already inside. Don't worry, no one saw me breaking into your apartment :)

-Lupin'

Shaking his head and sighing, Goro opens the door to find Ren waiting for him at his dining table with two plates of curry in front of him, “If the paparazzi is what you’re afraid of, I’ll just have to sneak into your apartment from now on to spend some time with you.”

Goro rolls his eyes and sets his briefcase down on the floor by the door, “The media is not what I worry about, Ren, they’re extremely easy to outsmart and predict. What I worry about is Niijima Sae believing that the reason why I’m spending so much time with you is because you’re my key suspect.”

“Well, am I?”

Goro smirks, pulling out the chair in front of him, “Would you believe me if I said no?”

Ren shrugs, “I know I’m not killing anyone, and I know you’re the brightest detective I could possibly ask for to be on the case. So even if you suspect me, I know you’ll eventually realise I can’t have possibly done anything wrong. I'm innocent... well, mostly,” he winks.

Goro chuckles and sits down next to him, “Quite a convenient answer, but I’ll take it,” he moves his hand over Ren’s own, “I… thank you. For being so understanding in all of this. You have every reason to hate me for what I’ve done so far after all.”

Ren shuffles his seat closer to Goro so that their shoulders are touching, then takes his hand into both of his, “How many times do I have to say it? I couldn’t possibly hate someone like you. The situation isn’t ideal, but we’ll work through it all. Together, okay?”

“Ren… I can’t-.”

“Talk about the investigation, I know,” Ren nods, “But it’s not gonna stop me from helping you in whatever way I can, okay?”

“…okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came out later than intended cos of con this weekend but it's up now! Now then, what do you guys think of Royal? Personally, I'm very curious and very excited for it!


	28. Conditions

A week later he’s sitting in a booth in Leblanc, a notepad, pen, phone and his 4th cup of coffee completely empty once again. The cafe itself is almost empty but Sojiros presence is the one thing stopping Goro from bashing his head against the table until it bleeds out of sheer frustration. Instead, he asks for another cup and boss gets right to it.

“You look pretty tired there, kid. You sure you don’t want to just call it a night and go home?” Sojiro offers while the coffee brews.

 _If only that were a possibility_ , Goro thinks to himself. He can’t stop now, not when he’s so close, “I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he says instead, “I need to get this done as soon as possible.”

He looks back down at the notepad, filled with single crossed out words, then back to his phone. Surely speaking random words into his phone must’ve made him look crazy to the cafe owner but being a regular there had its perks. Such as knowing that by now, boss has seen crazier shit, including from Goro himself, and this wouldn’t have even made it into the top ten.

Goro picks up his phone again to speak another word that’s come into his mind, “Mansion.”

**_Conditions have not been met._ **

His phone answers, and if he didn’t know it was an inanimate object, Goro would think it to be almost sarcastic in its response. He picks up the pen, writes out the word and crosses it out. Two out of three words... dammit...

_What the hell did Shido Masayoshi think of the Diet Building?_

* * *

In the previous week, Goro had been trying to stay as far from the media and Phantom Thieves as was possible. Luckily for him, without having ratted out Futaba earlier to Niijima, he can at least try and visit the girl when he knows Ren is either in school or out with somebody else.

The first day, Futaba has nothing for him and convinces him somehow to stay for four hours while marathoning Featherman. One second he’s picking up his briefcase to leave, the next his jacket is slumped over Futaba’s bed, his sleeves are rolled up, his tie loosened and he’s in a heated debate over who the best ranger is, because Futaba could not be more wrong and it’s clearly Feather Hawk who’s superior to Feather Toucan and he can’t believe he has to tell her something so basic.

Of course, it means he gets absolutely no work done and wastes the day away like this.

The next day he tries to focus, deciding to explore Mementos on his own once more, but he finds nothing of value there either. Not even Black Mask shows up while he waits for them at the bottom of the stairs leading into the labyrinth.

He stays away from the precinct and the courthouse, as well as the TV station, but even when he goes to school the next day, he finds a few reporters outside, most likely waiting for him.

It’s a good thing the principal showed him to a side entrance that no one really knew about, which he uses in the morning to sneak into the building.

However, school is another issue when girls that had previously ignored him when his popularity was at his lowest, suddenly began to swarm him and question him,

“Wow I can’t believe you saw through the Thieves straight away! No wonder you’re such a good detective!”

“You know who they are, right?! Of course, you do, you’re the detective prince after all!”

“Can you tell us, anything?! Please?”

Goro chuckles, smiles politely and lifts his hand up, “Oh, I apologise but even if I’m not part of the official investigation any longer, I cannot divulge such information to the general public. However, it won’t be long before you all find out who’s behind all of this,” he throws in a wink and the girls blush. It makes him feel nauseous, how fake he sounds speaking to them, but it’s an image he has to keep up. At least for now. At least until he figures out who the Black Mask and what they know about his mothers death.

It’s only the end of the week that brings any sort of results when Futaba ends up calling him rather than texting.

It’s odd, but he knows it’s gotta be important if she’d rather call than text, so he picks it up on the first ring, “Futaba? Is something the matter?”

“Uh… where do y-you live?!” She shouts over the phone, and he hears people moving around in the background as well as an overhead PA system announcing his stop.

“Are… are you on the train?!” He exclaims, knowing all too well how much trouble Futaba had out in public, “A-and you’re calling me? Where are you going? I’ll-.”

“I-I-I’m getting off at y-your stop now…” she stutters out, and he hears some more movement, “Ah! N-no…. this is not a solo mission! This is too high level and I haven't grinded enough!”

Goro picks his jacket up that he left hanging over his chair at his dining table and rushes out of the room, still on the phone with the hacker, “Futaba, please, just keep talking to me. Which exit are you heading for? What does it look like?”

“Uh…! T-there’s… I got off and turned l-l-left, p-p-past the turnstiles…,” she starts to mutter to herself, “t-there’s clothes shops here- oh that top looks terrible,” she says over the phone and Goro smiles. Good. She’s not paying attention to the crowds at least.

He’s pretty sure he can find the location on that little tip off alone, and he tries to stay on the phone while putting on his jacket and rushing over to the station. Futaba luckily seems too distracted by the terrible clothes the store has nearby and she keeps babbling about it, giving Goro the time he needs to find her.

He hangs up when he finds her and she points to the top, which seems to have some sort of quote from a game and an icon from it, “It’s not even the same company! What are they thinking?! Didn’t they do their research?!” She shouts about it and Goro shakes his head.

“I doubt they really cared all that much… more importantly, why are you here? I assume Ren gave you my address?”

Futaba shakes her head, “Of course not, we’re being all stealthy and stuff, aren’t we? I hacked your phone ages ago and tracked your GPS.”

Goro’s eyes widen at that. He’s certain he’s had his phone on him at all times, so when could she have possibly hacked it? There’s no way she’d sneak into Leblanc when he was asleep in Ren’s bed without him noticing, right? He definitely didn’t see her doing anything other than arguing and watching Featherman with him the other day…

“You didn’t-?”

“Read your and Ren’s dirty texts?” She smirks and Goro’s face reddens.

“We don’t do that!” He insists, and it’s not entirely untrue, as much as Ren would’ve liked to and tried in the past, “no, we’re getting distracted. Why did you come here, Futaba? I assume there’s a good reason if you’re willing to risk so much.”

She looks around, seeing all the people around, and she moves her head down, “C-can we just go back to your place for n-now?”

Goro nods and holds his arm out in the direction they’re meant to go in, “This way, follow me.”

The way back to his apartment is mostly silent, with Futaba occasionally commenting on one thing or another and Goro replying with either a nod or a shake of his head. He’s only reminded that he didn’t lock his door on the way out once he’s back, but luckily, he’s the only one who seems to have noticed that at all when everything seems to still be in place.

“Pretty shitty neighbourhood, huh?” Futaba comments, setting her bag down on a chair.

Goro shrugs, “Why do you think I’m always in Leblanc? I merely use this place for sleeping and eating… I have no need to make this into a home. Nor do I have the means for that.”

Futaba raises her eyebrow, “Uh, didn’t you tell me that Shido guy paid you a bunch of money?”

Goro ducks into his bedroom, and a second later brings out two envelopes. He throws them onto the table where Futaba’s pulling out her laptop. He places his hands on top of the other chair and leans his head down, “I don’t want it. Not anymore.”

“So…” she nods to her laptop, “I’m guessing that bug you told me about was more than just keeping tabs on someone?”

Goro removes his jacket, takes a seat and puts his head in his hands, “I… think I might’ve had something to do with Okumura’s death… not directly, but Shido asking me to look into him was no coincidence.”

Futaba sits next to him, opening up her laptop, “I think I’m gonna need a little more context here, sorry.”

Goro moves his hands away, his charming detective persona completely gone. To Futaba, he just looked exhausted, and much older than the 18-year-old he was supposed to be. She doesn’t comment on it and lets him explain.

“Shido paid me to look into Okumura, find out whether the rumours about him were true,” Goro begins, “It’s how Ren and I knew about his palace, it’s what I used to check whether it was even worth looking into him at all… and with how much the public pressured us into changing his heart, I have little doubt that it’s pure coincidence Shido had me do that…” he sighs again, “He’s been against the Phantom Thieves since the beginning, so as the only politician who’s been against them since the beginning, he’s been gaining massive favour with the masses,” Goro rubs his eyes through his gloves, “Cutting ties with Okumura must have been set up by him, somehow. But I cannot place any connection between him and the Black Mask, unless he’s just another client of theirs.”

When he looks up, he sees Futaba cringing, shifting her look between him and her laptop, “What did you get?” he deduces, “He said something about it, didn’t he?”

Without a word, Futaba opens up her laptop, searches through her files until she finds the voice file she’s looking for and plays it out loud.

There’s silence at first, until Shido begins talking,

“You’ve done a good job with Okumura, now, I take it you know what to do next?”

There’s silence again while Goro assumes the person on the other side, the Black Mask, talks.

“Yes. It’s imperative that you contact me in these delicate moments. This next assignment requires dutiful work. I will not allow for any mistakes, understood?... Good. Now then, I have the next few assignments ready for you. You know when to come in.”

The phone cuts off there, and Goro assumes it’s the end of the call. He rubs his head and shakes it, “I suppose that confirms it… I… may need some time to think all of this over and how to proceed.”

Futaba nods, closing her laptop, “I’m gonna keep listening in on the phone calls like you asked me to. There’s not been anything that’s caught my eye like that phone call did… oh, uh… I have some other bad news.”

“Hmm?” Goro looks up from his hands.

“There’s… uh…” Futaba begins to stutter a little again, “Actually, I t-think I should t-t-tell everyone else as well. You, uh, don’t mind… do you?”

Goro shakes his head, “I’ll wait. I need some time to process all of this anyway,” he pulls out his phone and unlocks it, staring down at the red app, “I’ll walk you back to Leblanc. I could do with the atmosphere there.”

“Y-you sure? W-what if you run into Ren or something?”

Goro nods, “I can deal with Niijima… this feels a little more dire at the moment. We know who the enemy is, but now we have to figure out how to outsmart someone who’s been one step ahead of us this whole time.”

* * *

In Leblanc, the notepad in front of him mocks him, covered in crossed out words. It’s probably already past closing time, but Sojiro doesn’t seem to be kicking him out any time soon. Maybe he shouldn’t be doing something like this out in the open, but Sojiro seems to think he’s just using an innocent app on his phone and no one else is around to hear him anyway.

At least, until with the chime of the bell Ren walks in and finds his boyfriend sitting at the back of the café, “What’s got you in the wrong seat?”

Sojiro sighs and removes his apron, only to hang it up on the hanger and picking up his hat, “I’m closing up. You know what to do before going to bed,” the café owner says before leaving himself, flipping the sign on the door.

Ren let’s Morgana out of his bag who proceeds to run upstairs, while Ren takes a seat next to Goro. The detective doesn’t even bother flipping over the notes, letting Ren see them, but he does lock his phone before the leader can see the name of the key suspect, “Are these keywords?” Ren guesses.

Goro sighs, “That’s half true. These are my attempts at figuring out the keywords of one individual,” he informs Ren, “Thus far I have been… very ineffective,” he looks into his empty cup of coffee, then other to Ren, “Could you?”

Ren raises an eyebrow, “Goro. You’re exhausted, not just right now but this investigation… it’s killing you,” Ren picks up the cup, goes over to the kitchen and places it in the sink, “Look, we need to fix what happened, but that’s why we’re working on it, together, as a team. It’s too much for one person to handle, no matter how skilled that person is,” he reaches his hand out and pulls Goro out from the booth, and into an embrace.

Goro leans down and nuzzles his head into Ren’s neck, “I’m just… so tired, Ren. One lifetime of trying to find my mothers killer, one year of living in the spotlight and nothing to show for it. But… if I work through this, then it’ll all be over.”

Ren holds onto him tightly and begins brushing through his hair, “Then Goro, please, trust me, let me and the others help. And if you can’t trust the others… then at least let me help you find the traitor.”

Goro pauses, leans away from the embrace and looks into Ren’s eyes, “I… can trust you, can’t I?”

Ren nods, “Yeah, of course you can.”

Goro pulls out from the embrace, “I may need just a little more time, but once I figure out what I need to do, I won’t hesitate to ask for your help any longer. Right now however…” his gaze briefly moves to the stairs, “Would you mind if I stayed over? The trains will stop running soon.”

* * *

It’s a few days since he stayed over at Ren’s, and since Futaba informed everyone that the Medjed they defeated in the summer and those who pushed for the change of heart in Okumura were most likely the same individual, and Goro ends up getting a phone call from the one person he least expected to hear from.

At least he’s home alone when he picks up the phone, “Makoto? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

She doesn’t comment on the slight hint of sarcasm in his voice and gets straight to the point, “This might be a little last minute, but would you be opposed to being the guest of honour at Shuujin’s school festival?”

School festival? That seems a little out of nowhere and Goro isn’t quite sure what possible value this could even have, “Why me? Would someone else not be more suitable for the job?”

“We had a poll asking the students who they wanted to see the most and you won by a considerable margin. You’re very popular here,” Makoto informs him, “The festival takes place in 5 days, but the meeting with our special guest would be the next day, on the 26th. I know it’s a regular week day and you’ve been trying to stay away from us, but would it be at all possible for you to make it here?”

Goro hums, contemplating the situation. On the one hand, there’s no doubt the police and Niijima would find out about him going to Shuujin. On the other, the school is known to be the starting place of the Phantom Thieves regardless, so a detective showing up there wouldn’t be that suspicious. Not to mention if the students actually wanted him there themselves, “Would it be too troublesome to give me a day to think about it? I need to be certain of my movements out in public now more than ever.”

Makoto hums, “Uh-huh, feel free to text me about it once your minds made up… but… um… If you’re not going to do it, would you happen to know someone who could sub in last minute?”

Goro chuckles, “As of right now, no, but it would be quite rude of me to leave you troubled like this because I’m undecided. I’ll see what I can do.”

Makoto breathes a sigh of relief over the phone, “Thanks… Goro. Considering you don’t exactly have to be nice to me about any of this.”

“Believe me, it’s as difficult for me as it is for you, Mako-chan,” Goro chides and he’s pretty sure he can hear her furrowed eyebrows, “I’ll let you know what I think at the end of the day.”

“Okay… well, um… goodbye,” Makoto hangs up the phone after an awkward silence between them.

He leans back in his chair and sighs.

There’s little reason for him to think that anyone is setting him up by making him go to a school festival, but he has to act soon, decide on who their next target should be before anyone else can influence the Thieves again.

5 days.

5 days to come up with a new target and convince the thieves that it’s the right person, convince them that this is what they need to do.

5 days to finally outsmart the Black Mask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah so many fun theories to read! Seriously you guys it makes me so happy to read what all of you are thinking, and even if I can't always reply in case I spoil something I always seriously appreciate it! Thank you all for reading! And don't worry Goro, soon you'll figure it all out!... or will you? ;)


	29. 5 Days Later

Walking into Shuujin hand-in-hand with Ren is a strange and new experience in and of itself, but the fact that everyone’s already staring at him is another issue. Goro’s face turns bright red, as much as he tries to control it, and he leans into Ren, his grip on his boyfriends’ hand unknowingly tightening, “P-perhaps coming here a day early was a bad idea…”

Ryuji glances over with a cocked eyebrow, “Uh… aren’t you used to this sorta thing? You get people coming up to you all the time in Shibuya and you don’t bat an eye.”

Ann rolls her eyes, “Do I seriously need to explain it to you?” Ryuji continues to look baffled, so she points at Goro’s and Ren’s linked hands.

“Oh… oh! Eh, don’t worry about them,” Ryuji grins, “They’re probably super jealous of Renren though.”

Yusuke chuckles, “you may need a bodyguard in a place so full of Goro’s fans.”

“You volunteering, Inari?” Futaba chides and nudges the artist gently with her elbow.

Behind Yusuke and Futaba, Goro notices Makoto put a hand on Haru’s shoulder and asking her something. The girl smiles back and waves her hand, as if reassuring her that everything’s alright.

Ann skips forward and turns around to face everyone, “Well, I’m gonna go find Shiho. We’ll regroup at mine and Ren’s class around lunchtime, yeah?” Without even waiting for a reply from anyone, she turns around and skips ahead happily. Without further comment, Yusuke too walks away, and upon seeing an ‘art exhibit’ sign further away, he goes in that direction.

Makoto, Haru, Ryuji and Futaba leave as well, leaving Goro alone with Ren and Morgana, who pops his head out of the bag, “Where to first, leader? Think we can get some sushi here?”

Goro chuckles, face back to normal and now ignoring the looks both he and Ren were getting with far more ease, “I do not think we’ll find any good sushi here… or sushi at all for that matter. This is a mere school festival after all.”

Ren pats Morgana, while also shoving him back into the bag so as not to bring even more attention to the three of them than they already had, “How about we go from class to class and see what we find?”

Going by Ren’s suggestion, the three of them do just that, starting with the bottom floor where they make some origami birds with the help of the third years, continuing to the top floor where Goro has to drag Ren out of a haunted house before he’s charged with assault _again,_ this time, for falling into the habit of pulling the masks of people.

Finally, when it gets to lunch time, they go down to the second floor and Ren shows him his class, where everyone is already waiting for the three, with misshapen takoyaki already steaming on the table. As unappetizing as it looks, Goro’s stomach grumbles and he reaches for one, “You don’t mind if I?”

Ryuji shakes his head, smirking, “Go for it.”

Goro picks up a takoyaki coloured red, but before he can put it in his mouth, Ren leans in and eats all of it in one bite, surprising everyone, apparently including himself if his wide eyes are anything to go by, “W-why did you-?”

Ren shakes his head, his face going red as he swallows the takoyaki. He drops his bag with Morgana inside, who whelps, and the leader of the Phantom Thieves runs out of the room, panting deeply.

The Phantom Thieves look between themselves, unsure of what to do next. Goro crouches to pick up Morgana and to put him on the table.

“So…” Ryuji begins, “We’re just gonna act like we didn’t see Ren take a shot for him?”

“You set me up!” Goro accuses him, “You knew it was spicy, didn’t you?”

Ryuji laughs, “Of course I did! It would’ve been hilarious! You can’t deny that!”

Makoto shakes her head and sighs, “Perhaps we should make sure if he’s doing alright?”

Haru gets out of her seat, “I’ll check if there’s anywhere I could get some milk… or something else that could soothe his throat.”

“I know something else that could soothe his throa-,” Ryuji starts, and Ann elbows him, “It was a joke, woman!”

Goro rolls his eyes and grabs Ryuji by the jacket and pulls him out of the chair and out of the room, “You’re helping me find him.”

“Why me?!”

“Think of it as repentance.”

* * *

By the end of the day, Goro’s got his arm linked with Ren’s and calling for a taxi to take them home, insisting he’ll pay for it just to get his boyfriend home safely and quickly, “Did you think you were being cute?”

“H-huh?” Ren looks up, face now a lot less red and a lot paler.

“With the takoyaki?” Goro reminds him, but he can't help but smile and shake his head when he meets Ren's eyes, “It… well, you should just be careful next time, alright?”

Ren nods slowly, holding onto his stomach, “N-noted…”

* * *

The next day, Goro gets to Shuujin with Ren, but they’re quickly separated when Makoto finds them and pulls him away. They find themselves alone in the PE faculty office while the others are nowhere to be found, “Last chance to back out,” she tells him, “You sure you want to do this?”

Goro nods, “I’ve thought about it long and hard, but yes. You have your questions prepared I assume?”

Makoto nods, “You can have a look if you wa-.”

Goro shakes his head, “No, I’m rather used to being interrogated by reporters, and if I can’t go up against Shuujin’s student council president then perhaps I should consider switching roles with you?”

Makoto rolls her eyes, “Suit yourself. Just know that I’m not gonna go easy on you, okay?”

Goro smirks, “the thought didn’t dare to cross my mind.”

* * *

The entire gym hall is full of students when Goro goes up on the podium on the stage, and everyone quiets down when they notice him walk in, followed by Makoto. She taps on the microphone to make sure it’s working and speaks into it, “Now, we will begin today's panel. Our guest of honour is Akechi Goro.”

Goro looks out into the crowd, then back at Makoto, “My, I feel a little bad with so many people here. Surely you would’ve preferred an idol or a mascot?” He asks, and he’s pretty sure he can hear Ryuji’s groan from the rafters above the gym hall, considering they all knew how popular he was at this particular school.

Makoto begins to interview him, starting with easier questions at first, merely asking him about what it’s like to investigate the Phantom Thieves and if there’s anything he could tell the crowd. It’s questions he expected of course, so he handles them with ease.

“You mentioned on TV that you do not think that the Phantom Thieves are the ones behind the recent deaths or the mental shutdowns, correct? If that is the case, is there someone you do suspect?”

Goro nods, “Of course, I’ve had suspects for quite a while now.”

“Are you allowed to share this information?”

Goro shrugs, “I’m not longer associated with the investigation, so I don’t see why not. This is nothing more than the speculation of a private citizen now… of course, if I’m right about this, then there’s a chance everyone here will know who’s been causing the mental shutdowns before the public or even the police do.”

Everyone in the hall begins to murmur, and when he looks up he can see that even the Thieves are confused, shocked even, then looking to Makoto, even she’s not sure how to respond, as shown in her stutter, “Y-you know who’s been causing the mental shutdowns? Would you be willing to share with us all today?”

“I know exactly who they are. They may see themselves as a Phantom Thief, but they are far from the Thieves I know…” he looks back out to the crowd and fakes an awkward chuckle, “Ahaha, I apologise, but I do not wish to divulge that information just yet. It may have implications on my own private investigation.”

The crowd groans and whines, but Makoto shushes them. Goro looks back up to the rafters, over to Makoto, then down at the podium.

_That should be enough to rile them up._

_Your turn._

* * *

Backstage, Ren is waiting for Goro, but without his bag. Apparently, Morgana had decided to go on somewhere else without him, “You’re free the rest of the day, right?” Goro nods, “Then hang out with me.”

“No more takoyaki?” Goro jokes and Ren chuckles, shaking his head.

“I promise,” he extends his hand over to Goro, “Walk with me?”

Taking his hand, the two walk out to the courtyard where the sun is beginning to set. As the activities taking place outside were all packing up for the day, not only were there very few students wondering around, and those that were there were too busy with cleaning up to notice the two.

They reach some benches, where the two take a seat. Ren turns around, lies down and puts his head on Goro’s lap, who’s surprised by his public display of affection at first, but then removes the glove on his right hand, places his left on Ren’s chest and runs his free hand through Ren’s hair, “You have no questions on that?”

Ren closes his eyes, and when Goro continues to play with his hair he’s pretty sure he can hear Ren _purring_ , “I’m waiting on you to comment. I’m pretty sure you know what I want to ask.”

“It was a bluff.”

Ren nods, “I know.”

“Do you think it worked?”

“We’ll have to wait and see. What’s your plan B?”

Goro tilts his head back and closes his own eyes, “We’ll meet tomorrow evening if I can’t figure out before then. I’ll suggest we go after one of three targets.”

“But you already know which one we’ll go after specifically, don't you?” Ren guesses and by instinct, Goro nods.

“Of course. The ball is in my court now, and I intend for it to remain there for as long as possible. As long as I’m in control, the Black Mask won’t be able to manipulate the Phantom Thieves.”

He hears his and Ren’s name from the other side of the courtyard and opens one eye to check who it is, finding Ann waving at the two of them with one hand while holding Shiho’s in the other. Ren sits up, and Goro puts his glove back on while Ann skips over giddily, dragging Shiho behind her, “Don’t let us interrupt you!”

“You’re the one who called out to us,” Ren points out, “Uh, having fun you two?”

Shiho smiles and nods, “I won a plushie in the raffle yesterday.”

Ann pulls something out of her pocket and hands it over to Goro, “Oh I got these chocolates in the raffle yesterday, they're impossible to buy at any of the sweet shops here, but I know you like them loads so… here!”

Goro looks down at the chocolates, a blush forming on his face “Ah… thank you, Ann, that’s very considerate of you.”

Ann smiles back at him, “Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing!” She checks her phone and gasps, “Oh no! They’re gonna close the stand that had the really good mochi! Let’s go!” Laughing, she and Shiho run back inside.

“The Post-festival party is about to begin in the gymnasium. Please join us everybody.”

Ren stands up and once again extends his hand to Goro, “Shall we?”

* * *

“And know it’s time for your favourite Shuujin tradition: the Student Sharing Special!”

“This sounds god awful,” Goro comments quietly to Ren from the back of the room and Ren chuckles, “Perfect for a distraction.”

“-anyone? Anyone? No? Then I’ll have to pick someone! Oh?” The MC looks directly at the two of them, “Is that Akechi Goro I see? Well, he’s not a student so I can’t bring him up here… guess his friend will have to do!”

“Did we just get gal-pal’ed?” Ren raises an eyebrow and Goro chuckles, pushing him a little.

“I suppose you’ll have to course correct everyone on that.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Ren grins back at him, and makes his way over to the stage. He stands in front of the microphone, hand in his pockets while he waits for the MC to say something.

“Let’s start with your name,” the MC says, “You’re that notorious transfer student, aren’t you?”

“The incredibly viscious one, yes,” Ren answers in a deadpan, monotonous voice and Goro snorts, “It’s Amamiya.”

“Er… right then, Amamiya!” The MC continues, “You look like you’re pretty close to the Detective Prince himself! Say, do you know something about him that we don’t?”

The little twinkle in Ren’s eye has Goro a little worried and regretting he encouraged this behaviour, “You can’t see it, but under the coat and trousers he has a really nice ass.”

While Goro goes completely red in the face, the girls begin to mutter among each other, some even eyeing him up. Only later does the insinuation of what Ren said hit everyone, including the MC.

“W-wait! Does that mean you two are dating?!” The MC gasps and Ren only nods, “Uh, well, good for you two I guess…”

“Thanks,” Ren smiles sweetly at the MC, “Is there anything else you’d like to ask me?”

“Is there anything you’d like to share? Something no one knows about you. Not even Akechi-san.” The MC continues as if the girls in the crowd weren’t staring daggers at the super dangerous, highly vicious criminal in front of them. To the best of their knowledge.

Ren clears his throat, pausing clearly for effect which leaves the gym hall silent in anticipation. He fixes his glasses and leans into the microphone, “I love Akechi Goro!”

“What?!” Goro shouts, followed by another shout from across the room where Ryuji apparently stand up and says the same thing, then points at him accusingly.

“You can’t say that shit on stage!” Ryuji shouts and Mishima, who’s sitting with him backs him up by standing up as well.

“Yeah! You gotta say it to him when you’re alone after a nice date or something!”

The people around the detective look at the flustered mess next to him, and he begins to hear them talking among themselves.

“Wow I’ve never seen him so flustered before!”

“It’s cute though!”

“Amamiya has no sense of romance, does he?”

The MC looks over to Goro, then to Ren and chuckles awkwardly, “Uh, guess I should leave you two to figure things out, huh? So!” he says as Ren leaves the stage, “After that exciting revelation, who wants to go next?!”

* * *

As soon as the door of the rooftop opens, Goro becomes flustered again, and turns to his boyfriend once he’s sure they’re alone, “Y-you just said that to get the crowd riled up? R-right? Ahaha, I shouldn’t have pushed you into that… we can just forget about it if you-.”

Out of nowhere, Ren’s hands appear on either side of Goro’s face and he’s pulled into a deep kiss. Only once they both need to come up for air does Ren let go, “I wouldn’t joke about something like that. The timing wasn’t ideal and my emotions got the better of me but it’s true. I love you, Goro.”

“I-I… I love you too, Ren… um…” Goro reaches down into his pocket and pulls out the chocolates he got from Ann earlier that day, “I’d like you to have these. They’re… really good but a little hard to obtain here. I know it’s silly but-.”

Ren reaches for the chocolates and smiles, “It’s not silly at all, Goro. Thanks.”

* * *

They walk back to Leblanc smiling, with Futaba making gagging noises behind them at their public display of affection, which only results in Ren leaning closer to Goro to peck him on the cheek each time she makes said noise.

“Ugh! You guys are the worst!” Futaba exclaims while opening the door of the café, carrying Ren’s bag with Morgana in it. It’s empty already, except for the café owner who’s holding a calling card in his hand, the one made for Futaba.

“Oh, good. You brought the detective here too,” Sojiro points out and slides the calling card over to them, “You should be able to tell me then if that’s one of the calling cards those Phantom Thieves give out.”

Goro picks it up, letting go of Ren’s hand to do it. He doesn’t even need to look at it in detail to know it’s the very same card Ryuji gave to Futaba when they changed her heart, “I… It could be but-.”

“I asked them to!” Futaba blurts out, “I asked the Phantom Thieves to change my heart! That’s why I have it! T-they fixed me!” She continues.

Morgana pops his head out from the bag, looking back at the other two Phantom Thieves, “She’s gonna blow this for all of us! Do something!”

Goro takes a step forward, “I… have noticed that Futaba’s been a lot more social now that she may have had a change of heart… if it’s any consolation, I do not think the Phantom Thieves hurt your daughter in any way, merely helped her move on with her grief.”

Sojiro raises an eyebrow, but then begins to chuckle, “So, they’ve got you involved in all of this too, huh? If you want to be Phantom Thieves, you’re gonna have to do a better job of hiding, like throwing something like that away,” he points to the calling card still in Goro’s hand, “Or better yet, burn it.”

Futaba shakes her head, “I-I wanted to keep it as a souvenir… wait!” she looks up, “You’re not mad!”

Sojiro sighs deeply, rubbing the back of his neck, “Of course I’m mad, I can’t believe you’d endanger yourself like that!” He looks over to Ren, “And I thought I told you to stay out of trouble!”

Ren looks away, now scratching his head, “Sorry…” he mumbles.

“Hmph,” Sojiro scoffs, “Well, too late to do anything about it now. Just… stay safe, all of you. You have a plan for how to deal with your situation now, don’t you?”

Goro nods, “We’ve got it under control. You have nothing to worry about, Boss.”

* * *

> **Futaba:** Hey so…
> 
> **Futaba:** sorry, about earlier tonight.
> 
> **Futaba:** I know you’re probably busy… whatevering with Ren so you won’t read this till morning.
> 
> **Futaba:** But thanks for backing me and Ren up.
> 
> **Futaba:** I’m actually kinda relieved Sojiro knows now.
> 
> **Futaba:** Anyway, uh
> 
> **Futaba:** Shido got another call.
> 
> **Futaba:** You’re gonna want to hear this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit, this was one of my favourite chapters to right so far, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Also, happy Goro day everyone! Was gonna wait a bit longer with this chapter but I totally forgot about Goro day so... um.... here!  
> 


	30. Whims of Fate

_"The guard will have to be disposed of too, unfortunately."_

_"Do not get provoked, all you are there for is to get in there and finish the job."_

_“-given your connections, no one should be surprised by your presence there.”_

The words Shido said over the phone keep dancing around in his head while Goro waits for everyone to get to Leblanc for their meeting. Ren’s already making coffee behind the bar while Morgana sits on a stool, and Sojiro’s locked up Leblanc just for them. Futaba types away at her laptop in the booth across from where Goro is leaning against a bar stool, not full sitting on it.

_Given your connections?_

_It’s not possible… is it?_

The bell above Leblanc’s door chimes when the others arrive, Ryuji first, and each take a seat somewhere around Leblanc. Ryuji is the first to speak up, breaking the silence, “So, you know who the Black Mask is? Ready to share that with us?” There’s bite in his voice, and Goro can’t entirely place where it's coming from. Sure, he could have told them what he was going to say on stage, but Ryuji couldn’t be still angry about that, right? He’s deceived them like this in the past, and they should know by now where his priorities are.

Goro clears his throat before speaking while Ren finishes up the coffee for everyone but Ryuji, “Yes… And no. I won’t be doing that just yet because bringing in the Black Mask won’t be enough to prove your innocence in the Okumura case. For now, we need to prevent your arrest.”

Haru nods, “You mentioned that in the group chat before, did you not? How do you plan on stopping the investigation into the Phantom Thieves?”

Goro pulls out his phone, “There are three different options… the first would be to target the SIU director, although I have not been able to figure out his keywords and I know almost nothing about him.”

Yusuke nods, “Getting close to a stranger like that would be seen as suspicious as well.”

“Yeah, especially for you,” Ann points out to Goro, “Considering you’re not part of the official investigation anymore.”

Goro agrees and moves onto the next possibility, “There is the one who’s been pulling the strings, the person behind the scenes who’s been orchestrating this from the very beginning… however we would need more time to look into him, something we do not have to spare.”

Futaba sighs, bringing her knees up to her chest, “So, your two first options suck. Really hoping you’ve got something better than those two.”

Goro nods, looking over to Makoto now, “Well… about that. This target is definitely part of the investigation, has a Palace and working out her keywords shouldn’t be too much of a hassle considering someone we know is close to her.”

Makoto looks up from the table at him, “You’re talking about my sister, aren’t you?” Goro nods once, and she sighs, “Well… in a way I never wanted it to come down to this but… I’ve wanted to change her heart since joining the Thieves. She’s been acting different for a while now, but I guess I didn’t want to ask at the time because it felt too selfish.”

“Then you are not opposed to it?” Goro asks her, originally expecting to get the most opposition from her. Then again, it is her sister, and if it’s true that she’s had a Palace for a while, as Goro thought might be the case, it’s no wonder Makoto would want her sister back, just as Okumura wanted her father back.

“No… as a matter of fact, I’ve looked into this myself and already know her keywords,” she pulls out her phone, switches on the Metanav and shows them the bookmark, “I just didn’t go through it because at the time the Shadows there were far too powerful for me to deal with or risk sneaking past on my own.”

“If Makoto’s fine with it,” Morgana begins, “And if it’ll help the case like you said, Goro, then I say we go for it.”

Ryuji smirks, looking down at the table, “Can’t get any worse anyway… I’m in.”

Ann nods, “Me too!”

Ren sets everyone’s drinks down in front of them, then lifts Morgana off of the barstool he was sitting on, only to take the cats place and put him on his knees, “Any objections to this?”

When no one opposes the problem, Goro speaks up, “We have until November 20th, that is when the arrest will most likely take place.”

“Most likely?” Yusuke asks for clarification.

“I couldn’t get a specific date, but this operation requires planning, coordination and numbers,” Goro explains, “The police here aren’t as highly organised as the public is lead to believe, so at best, they will only be ready by November 20th.”

Makoto agrees with him, “Even if it’s later, we should get this done as soon as possible to avoid any further complications. Wouldn’t you agree, leader?”

Ren seems a little out of it, not expecting to have a question directed at him apparently as he stops stroking Morgana’s back and looks up, “Um… Yeah. We’ll do it before November 20th, definitely.”

“Today?” Yusuke suggests.

Haru shakes her head, “Unfortunately, I have plans after this and cannot go today. Perhaps we could meet tomorrow? Where would this be?”

Makoto looks down at her phone, “The courthouse. I… actually have plans as well, so tomorrow works better.”

Goro nods, “I was going to suggest tomorrow regardless. Ren and I have plans too.”

“Ooooh,” Ann coos from the booth and Goro sees Ryuji roll his eyes behind her.

“It’s not like that!”

“It totally is,” Ren grins with a wink and Morgana jumps off of his lap.

“Ugh, well if you’re gonna be busy, I’m going for a walk,” Morgana announces before making his way out of the door. The rest of the Thieves stay a while longer to finish up their drinks, and one by one they leave, until all that’s left are Goro, Futaba and Ren.

Futaba is the first to speak when Goro walks over to the front door to lock it, “Can we take this upstairs, Ren? There’s something we wanna show you.”

* * *

As soon as the Thieves step into the distorted courthouse, they’re covered in blue flames as their school uniforms change into their familiar Phantom Thief gear, save for Crow, who ends up in the darker version of his costume. He looks down at his gloves, reaches for his head only to confirm the hood was there, “Oh? Why is he…?” He mutters to himself.

“Uh… Crow?” Skull asks him, patting him on the shoulder, “You alright there?”

Crow’s surprised expression forms into an innocent smile, not wanting the others to think he didn’t know exactly what was happening, “No- Ah, I mean yes, I’m perfectly fine. I just… forgot the feeling of this particular mask, that is all.”

The others begin to talk about the Palace, how the cognition's here are fairly normal all things considered, but Crow doesn’t pay too much attention, instead, waiting for an explanation from the one being that could give it to him. None comes, so he chooses to walk to the door, “I’ll be right back,” he says and walks outside, this time, his costume staying on.

He pulls off his mask, summoning the persona he knew would come up. Loki stares down at him as he floats above, no longer looking quite as bored as he usually appeared to be, “What? Taking control only now? What stopped you before?”

**_You clearly have no idea what you’re dealing with._ **

Crow shakes his head, “That isn’t it. You’re afraid, you’ve been afraid since Futaba’s Palace. It’s the only reason I’ve been able to control you. It’s nothing like an increase in skill, there’s simply been something you didn’t want coming back since that trip to Mementos.”

Loki turns his head, looking away, **_you couldn’t possibly understand. And even if I explained it to you, you’d immediately reject it._**

Crow scoffs, “You’re me, and I’m you. You’re the embodiment of my inner most self, so what? I’m afraid of the truth? Am I so deep in denial that control over you is the only way I can express it?”

**_You know there’s a power here, among the others. Someone far more powerful than any of us, and the only reason you’ve been able to hold me back, because as much as I toy with you, I need you alive as much as you need me._ **

Crow raises an eyebrow, “Who? Black Mask? We knew their power; we’ve known for a while they were on the team. Is it because we know who it is now that you’re taking control again?”

Loki shakes his head, **_No. It is because Joker knows, and his power far exceeds what you are willing to give him credit for. There is something he has yet to reveal, you know this, but you do not care to admit it._**

Loki disappears in a blue flame and the mask reappears on Crow’s face. It was true, it bothered him still that Joker had only been a persona user for a few months as opposed to Crow who had a year to train his personas. How then, was he able to defeat him in one shot? More importantly though, why was Loki, a trickster god of all things, terrified of Joker?

* * *

By now, running through a Palace, despite some initial setbacks in the form of Niijima’s Shadow showing up and making them work to get to the top floor, is routine; following Joker’s lead, fighting Shadows when necessary and making sure everyone is safe but also has enough energy left to keep going, which with a special adhesive that Joker obtained which restored their energy meant they could all go through a Palace for much longer.

There’s little that really gets in their way. Sure, crawling through the vents can be gruelling but it’s nothing they’re not used to anymore, not after so much practice, and sneaking around corners waiting for a perfect opportunity to sneak past a Shadow or attack them is second nature. They barely even have to speak to each other anymore to know what to expect from another Thief. It’s perfect, and smooth, and far too perfect for Crow’s liking. Nothing ever went this easily, at least by their standards. Something was coming up.

And when that something did come up, he wished that he would’ve thought of something like this sooner, because as soon as he was given the badly named fake members card by Oracle, a cognition comes in to check in on the security. None other than-

“Goro?!” Queen exclaims, finding the other in a suit and tie, but otherwise a perfect copy.

Crow shakes his head and groans, “No… that’s Niijima’s cognition of me. I… can’t say I’m looking forwards to this. Considering his uniform, I'd say he's here to check on the security he's in charge of and we've been breaching.”

“I’ll talk to him,” Joker suggests, and Crow shakes his head, holding his arm out to stop his leader from stepping forwards.

“Niijima knows we’re dating, what do you think he’ll think when he sees you with me? He’s most likely skeptical and will think something wrong is happening,” Crow insists, then looks over to Queen, “I think Queen should go talk to him.”

“W-why me?!”

Mona jumps up, “Oh! Cos, we haven’t seen Makoto’s cognitive double, and Niijima knows for certain that you know each other, right?”

Crow nods, “Yes. I’d rather avoid fighting myself if at all possible, but if nothing else can be done…”

Queen sighs, looks up, then moves her head around as if readying herself for a fight already, “No promises… it is an opportunity to beat you up without consequence after all,” she mutters, not realising Crow himself had heard that but chose to ignore it for the sake of this particular mission. She waves awkwardly at his cognitive double and Crow already knows it’s going to be a disaster, “Uh, hi, Akechi-kun! Um, do you know where my sister is, maybe?”

Looking at him from a short distance, even Crow can see the dark circles under his cognitive double’s eyes. Was he always that tired? Did he always look so… old and done with everything?

The cognition merely nods once, folding his arms, “She sent me here herself, worried that you of all people would try to cheat here. You should know, cheating is strictly forbidden, and if I catch you in such an act, you will regret it.”

Did he always sound so tired to her as well?

Queen quickly shakes her head, “N-no! O-of course not! We… um, well, we can only play if we’re members, right? So, we were just, um, signing up! You know… it’s only fair if we can play too, right? It’s unjust if we don’t even get a chance to compete, you know….”

The cognitive double hums, then drops his hands to his sides, “I suppose that’s true. In the end, it won’t matter,” the cognition smirks, “In here, the house always wins, fair and square. Good luck,” he waves off the Phantom Thieves, despite the sarcastic tone in his voice.

Everyone breathes a sigh of relief once the detective is gone, including Crow himself, who turns to everyone, “Am I always like… that?”

“Uh…” Panther looks around, “Let’s just move on to the members floor, okay?!”

* * *

They rest up in the safe room on the members floor, drinking the coffee and eating curry that Joker made sure to bring with him that day. When everyone’s distracted, or at least seems to be busy with themselves, Crow pulls Joker out of the safe room and onto the members floor lobby where he knew there weren’t any Shadows left that would interrupt their conversation anyway.

“The others, they’re suspicious of me, aren’t they?” Crow deduces from their strange behaviour and general tiptoeing around him, “What don’t I know, Joker?”

Joker looks back to the safe room, then over to Crow, “Well… Oracle doesn’t think you’re guilty… but considering your outfit, your insistence, the fact that you pretty much gave us no choice but to go to this Palace and that you’re the only one who saw Black Mask shoot Okumura…” Joker trails off, clearly wanting to add more to the list but deciding to cut off there.

“They think I’m the culprit?” Crow raises and eyebrow, to which Joker doesn’t respond. It’s enough confirmation for him anyway, “And you telling them that isn’t true would of course be seen as biased… and Oracle couldn’t stand up to a group, nor does she have definitive proof to contradict that statement…” Crow rubs his chin, thinking over what it could mean for his plan, “Well… as long as you can stop them from interfering in any way, then it doesn’t matter. We’ll prove them wrong soon enough.”

Joker sighs, walking back to the door of the safe room, “Well… as long as you know what you’re doing… and I don’t get a bullet in between the eyes.”

* * *

Ren ends up calling it a day as soon as they’ve made their way through the members floor and get to the giant wooden doors preventing them from entering the high stakes floor, leaving Goro to figure out the next public hearing Niijima would be at that the Thieves could also attend.

He ends up sneaking around the courthouse itself, trying to hear out any rumours on Niijima until he finally gets something, a public hearing taking place the next day with her as the lead prosecutor. A group of 8 students walking into something so low brow should catch her attention even if she is invested in that case. Which, considering how her obsession with the Phantom Thieves had resulted in the creation of her Palace in the first place was quite unlikely.

He texts the group about it and they all respond saying that they have time for it, but there’s no usual follow up, leading Goro to think they really are slowly turning on him.

_It would have been better if that were not the case…_

* * *

They’re back in the Palace once the trial is over and Niijima has definitely seen them inside, meaning that the blocked doors of the high stake’s floor are no longer there when the Thieves reach them. Crow’s suit remains dark, and as many times as he tries to summon him, Robin Hood does not appear. At least Loki is the more powerful one, and Joker can deal bless damage with one of his multiple Personas if it’s absolutely necessary.

The games here are just as rigged as the one’s downstairs, apparently to everyone’s surprise but his and Jokers. Of course, the casino wouldn’t actually allow them to play fair, this Palace belonged to the same person who planned on falsifying evidence just to convict everyone here excluding himself. Regardless, everyone follows Joker’s lead through the pitch-black maze, and only twice does Crow hear one of the Thieves bumping into the wall, and he’s fairly certain that it's Noir both of those times.

When they walk over to the arena, Crow already expects it to be more than just a simple one on one battle, and he doesn’t fancy his odds when Loki’s preventing him from using all of his power, “I think Joker should go,” Crow suggests after some discussion.

“Huh?” Skull looks over to the detective, “Why him?”

“For one, he’s a Wildcard with more than two personas at his hands,” Crow replies, “Which means he can adapt if the situation calls for it. Secondly, I’d say out of all of us right now he’s the most capable, is he not?” The third reason being Loki’s suggestion that Joker was more powerful than anyone else here, but he doesn’t drop that on the group that’s already struggling to trust him.

At least Oracle seems to agree, “He’s got a point… sending out Joker seems to be the best call if we can’t go about it any other way…”

Joker smiles, reaching to touch his mask with a gloved hand, “It’s just a one-on-one match, right? I can take it.”

When the Phantom Thieves are too busy cheering him on, Crow turns to the counter and hands the badly named card to the Shadow, “I’d like to bet all of this money on him, please, at 1:23 odds.”

* * *

“I may have an unusual request,” Goro says as soon as everyone’s back in Leblanc’s attic, “Regarding the calling card, I think we should leave it for as late as possible in this instance,” before any of them can object to it, Goro gives his explanation, “Sae-san is an extremely cautious and somewhat skeptical woman. If we deliver it to her now, she may think of it as a mere prank, and the treasure will not appear, and from then on any future calling cards addressed to her would be treated in a similar manner.”

Haru tries to rephrase what he’s getting at, for her benefit and everyone else’s, “What you’re saying is, if we leave it to when she will be most pressured, she’ll be more likely to believe that the threat is real, correct?”

Makoto crosses her arms, “And what about the Black Mask? Won’t they try to interfere?”

Goro shakes his head, “I’m almost certain they won’t. It would, in a sense, be counterproductive for them… however, I understand if you’re worried about your sister. That is why I’m merely making a suggestion, and not saying this is what we should do.”

Makoto looks around the group, all apparently waiting for her to reply, and she sighs, “You think it’s one of us anyway, don’t you? So, in the end it doesn’t make a difference whether we send the calling card now or in a weeks’ time. I knew what I was agreeing to when I wanted to change my sisters’ heart… nothing’s changed in that regard.”

Everyone’s eyes now turn to Ren, expecting him to either speak for the plan or against it. He clears his throat to speak, “Let’s go with Goro’s plan… if he’s right, and Niijima won’t be arresting us before the 20th then it should all work out in the end, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh thank you all so much for the kudos and the comments!!! Reading them is so much fun and making me excited for the reveal as well!
> 
> Side note, 100K!!! Thank you all so much for sticking around for this long!


	31. Case Closed

As soon as the Thieves are back on the managers floor, they run into two obstacles. The first being the missing treasure, which was little surprise to them considering how every Shadow before Niijima's tried to conceal or otherwise take it from them. The second was far more startling, as one thing seemingly no one expected was running into Crow’s cognitive double once more, this time holding a folded-up baton in his left hand.

“Where’s Niijima?” Skull asks, clearly not in the mood to try and go around the cognition this time.

“Niijima-san is busy,” Cognitive Goro raises his baton, clicks a button on it then whips it so the rest of it can come out, “Besides, she doesn’t wish to fight cheaters like you, so she sent me here to deal with you instead.”

Crow pulls out his lightsabre and points it at his double, “We don’t have the time to deal with this nuisance,” without waiting for Joker’s command, Crow runs at his own double and slashes at him. The double manages to block the physical attack, but leaves himself open for any and all attacks, “Get him!” Crow takes command of the others by shouting orders at them.

Panther and Queen are the first two to react to this, reaching for their masks to summon their Personas and throw magic attacks at the cognition as soon as Crow jumps out of the way,

“Hecate!”

“Anat!”

With little time to react, the fire and nuclear energy hits the cognition straight on, but he remains standing. His suit is a little tattered, but if that did any damage to him, he doesn’t let it show, smirking smugly instead, “Well then? Is that all the Phantom Thieves had to showcase? Niijima-san was right, you’re not worthy to face her.”

Oracle tries to scan the cognition from inside Prometheus, but nothing comes up, “Sorry guys! I can’t find a weakness for him! You’ll have to keep trying!”

Without hesitating, Fox and Mona summon their own personas, hoping that maybe their attacks will have more effect against it,

“Kamo Susano-o!”

“Zorro!”

The cognitive double has more of a chance to move, so while he manages to dodge Mona’s wind attack, he falls right into Fox’s icy trap, leaving him frozen in his place.

Crow, with his lightsabre still out, uses the opportunity to jump into the fight again and slash at his unmoving double, leaving him falling to the floor, a little dazed and confused. As soon as he’s done, Crow, Joker, Skull and Noir run in with their guns pointing at the cognitive double, “Do you still think us to be weaklings?”

The cognitive double chuckles, “It doesn’t matter what I think,” he replies to Crow, “I just know that in the end you won’t be able to win against the house- no one ever does.”

Tired of hearing himself talking like this, Crow jumps back, leading everyone into an all-out-attack without even waiting for Joker to say anything. The leader and the others follow him without question, slashing away at the cognition until he’s nothing but dust.

Once he’s gone, everyone’s masks reappear on their faces and Crow puts his lightsabre away. He points up to a vault at the top of the stairs, one he couldn’t remember whether it was there or not beforehand, “I believe we’ll find her and the treasure there, if she's decided to hide it away from us. Shall we continue, then?”

* * *

The bright lights and golden stage have the Phantom Thieves walk through the vault doors with squinting eyes until they adjust to the brightness of it all. As soon as they find themselves in the middle of the stage at the centre of the room, Niijima’s Shadow appears on a screen in front of them, and the group tenses up, expecting her to once again cheat in the fight to come, one way or another.

“So, not only have you managed to make it to the managers floor, you’ve dealt with my security too,” the Shadow says in a calm voice, “Well done, I’ll admit that it was foolish of me to rely on someone like him to deal with you all.”

“Sis...” Queen shakes her head, voice breaking a little, “You don’t have to do this! This isn’t like you!”

“I don’t have to do this?!” Niijima’s Shadow shouts, “You wouldn’t have any idea about that, would you? I work day in and day out to support us, being undermined for my work simply because of my age and gender, while you play vigilantes with your friends. I can’t just ‘not do this’, I have to!” She quickly changes expression, from angry to smug, “Which is exactly why…” she disappears from the screen, and her voice can be heard from behind the Thieves, causing them to turn around and find Niijima’s Shadow right behind them, “I won’t be taken down by the likes of you. So, then, shall we play a game of roulette?”

The stage transforms around them, changing into a giant roulette wheel with the Thieves and Niijima in the middle, “I’ll be playing too, of course.”

Crow puts a hand on Queens shoulder, “We’ll win against her, and steal her treasure. Are you ready?”

Queen nods, gritting her teeth, eyes full of determination, “Let’s do this.”

“We’ll be betting our lives,” Niijima announces and a ball begins to roll around the roulette, “If I catch you cheating, there will be a harsh penalty. So, what’s your bet?”

Oracle flies in, just over Joker, “I’m pretty sure that means something bad will happen if you try to fight her right now.”

Queen agrees with Oracles analysis, “Let’s just play along for now and figure out what she’s trying to do by making us play this, okay?”

Joker nods and looks over to Niijima’s Shadow, who’s awaiting his answer while the ball around them keep on rolling. A holographic screen appears in front of him, asking him what his bet will be. Crow steps in and looks over it, “I doubt it’ll make much difference what you do here, she’ll definitely cheat one way or another, but we have to bet if we want to move forward.”

Without a word, Joker chooses to go for a low stakes bet, and just as expected, the ball lands anywhere but where he placed his bet. A sharp pain is felt by everyone as they feel part of their health drain away into Niijima’s Shadow.

“Better luck next time,” She chuckles, and the ball starts rolling again.

Joker turns to Crow, “You’re a good shot, right? The next time the ball lands where it should, hit the area just below it. There’s a glass panel there that’s causing it to jump over to whichever slot Niijima wants it to fall into.”

“Understood,” Crow jumps away from the front lines and runs back over to the top of the roulette wheel, apparently unnoticed by Niijima’s Shadow. Joker makes another bet, this time one he’s counting on winning, and just when the ball is about to land in the correct socket, Crow sees a little gleam of light reflect from the surface of the glass panel. He shoots right at it, causing it to shatter before it can move into the slot adjacent to it.

This time it’s Niijima who loses health, and it all comes back to the Thieves, “What?!” She shouts, “Impossible!”

“Don’t think you can cheat here just because it’s your casino!” Panther shouts at her.

“Yeah!” Skull backs her up, “You call this fair and square?! I call bullshit!”

Niijima’s Shadow shakes her head, “Fair?! You want to play fair?!” Black and red mist begins to circle her until her form can no longer be seen. Her outrage gives Crow just enough time to run back to the middle of the roulette wheel with the others, and just when the mist disappears, she looks completely different, distorted. Her form is larger, covered by a mask and armour not so different from Queens, if not a little more over the top. Her hands are completely covered, one by a machine gun and the other with multiple blades, “Then let’s play fair!”

Oracle scans the area, noticing something missing from it, “H-hey! The penalties are gone! You can attack her if you want to now!”

Joker nods, “Then let’s do it. Cu Chulainn!” He shouts, removing his mask and dealing a devastating physical blow to Niijima. The others follow suit, unleashing their personas on the Shadow as soon as they’re certain it won’t harm them.

“Zorro!”

“Seiten Taisei!”

“Hecate!”

“Kamo Susano-o!”

“Anat!”

“Astarte!”

“Loki!”

Each one of them throws an attack at Niijima, all the while dodging her slashing and shooting, as well as helping each other in landing their own attacks. Once she’s taken the brunt of the damage, she falls to her knees, with Joker running up to her as quickly as he can, “I have this! Dominion!” He tears off his mask and the angelic form is the last to deal any damage to the Shadow.

Niijima’s Leviathan form collapses and is soon covered in black and red mist once more while it transforms back into Niijima’s Shadow’s regular form, kneeling this time and looking down, her hat hiding her face. Queen immediately runs over to her and kneels down in front of her sister. She gently puts a hand on her shoulder, “Do you understand now? Why we have to do what we do?”

Niijima’s Shadow slowly nods, “I… I just wanted to prove myself. It’s so tiring to have to do it over and over with barely anything to show for it…” she explains herself to her sister.

“I know, sis… but I promise that once this is all over, I’ll help you as much as I can,” Queen smiles, “Maybe we could go on holiday some time, yeah?”

Niijima's Shadow looks up, “That… would be nice.”

Crow turns away from the scene and looks over to the others, “We should probably go look for where she hid the treasure.”

Skull grabs Fox by the arm and begins to drag him alongside to accompany him, “Yeah, uh, we’ll go look for it. Come on!”

With that settled and apparently not up for debate, Crow looks over at Joker in a worrying manner, who tries to reassure his concern with just a nod, “Very well. Hopefully this will now give us the time we need to look into who the true culprit is, or at least extend the time of the investigation quite considerably. With no proof and no desire to forge it, Niijima will not be able to arrest any of you.”

Shortly after, Skull and Fox come back with a briefcase in hand, “Uh, guess this was it then, huh?”

“Wait, what?!” Oracle shouts, and holograms begin to surround her, “There’s multiple enemy readings around the Palace! But this shouldn’t be possible if we just defeated her Shadow!” She shouts, looking over to Niijima who’s still kneeling and hunched over.

Crow looks over to her screens and points to one of them, “Those are the uniforms the police wears! They must have gotten into the Palace somehow. We can’t fight them here; we’ll have to escape.”

“But how?!” Panther looks frantically between the screens and her teammates, “We’re surrounded!”

“I’ll distract them,” Joker announces, taking the briefcase from Skull, “I’ll catch up with all of you later and we’ll meet in Leblanc, got it?”

“Are you sure about this?” Noir asks, “What if you get caught?”

Skull shakes his head, “Don’t bother, he ain’t gonna change his mind that easily. Not when it comes to saving others.”

Queen nods, “Right… in that case, we should get going,” Queen runs ahead first, followed by Noir, Oracle, Skull, Fox, Panther and finally Mona. The only one who stays a little longer is Crow.

“Be careful… and don’t do anything reckless. You’re coming back to us in one piece, promise me that,” Crow insists, and Joker extends his hand.

“It’s a deal,” he replies with a grin, “I’ll hold you to it as well.”

They shake hands, with Crow gripping a little tighter, and Joker begins to run in the opposite direction from the rest. Crow looks down at his hand, at the small bottle that Joker had just given him. He smiles and shakes his head, “Did you really think I wouldn’t be coming prepared?”

* * *

They’re one person short when everyone regroups back in Leblanc, Ren having gotten himself surrounded back in the Palace and arrested. The rest of the Thieves sit around quietly, still holding out hope that maybe he has made it out, but when another hour passes, Goro’s certain that Ren won’t be getting out, not on his own, “I’m going,” Goro announces, breaking the silence, “All things considered, the police station is still my work place. My presence shouldn’t surprise anyone.”

Yusuke looks up with a raised eyebrow, “And what will you say when they catch you carrying Ren out?”

“I’ll play up the part,” Goro replies, “They’re all corrupt and I doubt it’ll take much for me to blend in and claim I’m part of them. I’ll simply say I’ve been asked to deal with Ren at a different location.”

Ryuji shakes his head, “Or you’ll both get shot on the spot.”

Goro clenches his fist, knowing the arguing is pointless. He knows they think he’s the one planning on shooting Ren in the head as soon as he makes his way over, but if bringing Ren and revealing the traitor is what it’ll take, then he’s willing to put up with this behaviour, “Trust me. We’ll be back in the evening. Don’t bring attention to yourselves before then.”

* * *

In the interrogation room itself, Ren’s just starting to remember everything much clearer as he recalls his story with Niijima sitting right of him.

“Your story then, would point to only one person who could’ve sold you out. Am I correct in thinking that?” She asks him, “Only he could’ve organised something like this.”

_Goro? Betraying them? No, that was impossible._

Because Goro planned for this.

Goro knew he’d get arrested and sent to this interrogation room. Goro knew that the traitor would come in and try to kill Ren. Goro knew who the traitor was.

_And it definitely wasn’t Goro._

Ren shakes his head, “Akechi has nothing to do with it. He’s been on our side all along,” he explains, “Even if he has a shitty way of showing it,” Ren admits, before moving on, “No. He’s not the one.”

“Then who…?” Niijima continues to question, “Who would have those kinds of connections?”

Ren shakes his head, “it’s not about who has the connections… not if they’re working for someone who can provide that for them…”

Niijima raises an eyebrow, “Would that not mean anyone on your team was capable of this? Even you?”

Ren shakes his head again, “Goro wouldn’t get noticed walking in here… but he’s not the only one.”

Ren knows how quick witted Niijima is, even if it’s taken him this long just to gain her trust. Now comes the tricky part; convincing her that there is no way Ren and Goro were incorrect in their assumptions, “I-it… can’t be…”

* * *

With his carefully planned out strategy, Goro finally enters the precinct when he’s certain everything has fallen into place. Inside, no one even bats an eye at him, and he makes his way into the elevator. It’s completely empty and silent as he makes his way down. Eventually, it stops at the lowest level, and Goro walks out, each of his steps getting heavier and heavier, louder and louder. Doubt begins to fill his mind, worry about what he’ll find waiting inside him in the interrogation room. What if he’s gotten this all wrong?

_No. I can’t let my mind wander. Not here. Not now._

He’s already got confirmation that something went down when he sees that there’s no guard waiting outside making sure only authorised people are walking in. Part of him is grateful, knowing it makes his job easier. The other part knows what that means.

He opens the door to the room, finding it completely empty, but clearly used. The syringes on the floor and the blood on the table and floor indicate as much.

He breathes a sigh of relief before walking around and taking a seat at the very table, across for the door. He reaches into his pocket, taking out the small bottle Ren gave him earlier.

…

…

He stays in there for a surprising amount of time, all things considered, until finally, the door opens and that’s when he knows everything he’s done, everything he’s worked for has finally come to ahead.

The traitor's eyes widen at the state of the room, unsure of what exactly had gone down and why Goro was sitting in that chair. They shake their head and point the gun at his head.

“Where’s Ren?”

Goro smirks, unafraid and unfazed by the imminent danger, “Unavailable, actually. Was that your plan? To have me walk into the room, only to find him dead, leaving the police to think I had killed him?” Goro sighs, “Really, Makoto, I thought you of all people would be a worthy opponent, but I suppose I had that all wrong.”

* * *

_“But then what does Makoto have to do with any of this? You don’t think she’s the Black Mask, do you?” Ren swings his bat and manages to hit the target this time. He grins, and Goro pretends to ignore what he assumes is luck._

_“It’s a possibility, although some instances of mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns coincide with her required attendance at Shuujin or at the cram school,” Goro says, having already checked everyone’s alibi’s, “There’s still a chance that the mental shutdowns don’t occur when one kills the cognition of an individual, although I’d rather not test that theory out.”_

* * *

_“I… was actually worried something like that may be the case. Makoto has changed since she started talking to that group, I wondered what brought about that change and could only come to one conclusion. But I can assure you, she cannot be the culprit. She would’ve been only 15 when the mental shutdowns started, and I don’t think any 15-year-old is capable of that.”_

_This time, it’s Goro’s turn to cock an eyebrow, “I became a detective at age 16 with no prior training and help only coming from you. If I can do that, then I’m sure a 15-year-old could become a murderer, not to mention, she’s my oldest suspect so far. Do you think someone could be forcing her into this?”_

_Niijima shakes her head violently, “No, I would’ve noticed if something like that was happening.”_

_“Are you quite sure about that?” The shower turns off, and Goro turns to a whisper, “You’re not home that often after all, I should know since most nights you're working in the courthouse with me…"_

* * *

“You say that like I don’t have a gun pointed at your head and no one coming to save you,” she replies back, “It makes little difference. No one knows who the leader of the Phantom Thieves is, so we can put all the blame on you and claimed you committed suicide,” she says.

Goro closes his eyes, “Hm? And how will you do that if I’m still alive?”

Makoto glares at him, finger pulsing on the trigger, “Not for much longer. Case closed.”

With the pull of the trigger, a bullet leaves the chamber of Makoto’s gun, aimed right at Goro’s forehead.


	32. The Avenger

_“I’m nobody important,” Black Mask insists in a calm tone, “Just someone trying to enact justice like you. My methods aren't conventional, but as long as I know that the ends will justify the means, I'll do what I can to reach my goal."_

* * *

The bullet reflects from Goro, hitting the gun and causing it to explode in Makoto’s hand. But instead of the effects one would expect from that, she just feels a short sting at her hand. The surprise throws her off, and Goro uses the opportunity to stand up, hop over the table, grab her hands and pin her down onto it, “Now do you understand?”

Makoto grunts, struggling against him, “Let… me… go!”

Goro shakes his head, “So, what? You can summon Morrigan? You already know who would win that fight, need I prove it to you again?” He asks her rhetorically, “You have two options, either you come back with me to Leblanc and we calmly discuss the situation, or I turn you in to the police.”

Makoto smirks, “You really think the police are going to hold me for long? They didn’t even care that I walked in here.”

Goro chuckles, “The police might be in your employers’ pocket, but not the public. They’re on my side right now, and if I declare that I’ve named you as the culprit behind the mental shutdowns, do you honestly think your employer would risk having you set free?” Makoto stays silent and Goro keeps going, “You’re an assassin, if you’re gone then surely, he can just find another. Face it, you're completely replaceable. Now then, what will it be?”

Makoto groans after some consideration, knowing there’s no way out this time, “Fine, I’ll go with you under one condition.”

“You’re hardly in the right place to be making demands.”

Makoto ignores him and gives him her demand nonetheless, “You have to ensure that my sisters in a safe, undisclosed location, got it?”

“Why-?”

“Please!” Makoto’s insistent voice has Goro reconsidering his stance. If she’s willing to plead with him this much over something unrelating to her current predicament, then he knows something is up.

Goro nods, loosening up his hold over her, “Very well. I’ll see what I can do.”

* * *

_“Y-you want me to kill someone… in the real world?” Makoto repeats into the phone. There’s little surprise that it’s Ren he specifically wanted her to kill since she’d always known it would be a necessity to carry out not only Shido’s will, but her own plan to take down the evil politician as well._

_“Are you having reservations about this?” Shido asks her over the phone._

_Makoto shakes her head, “No, of course not. I take it I’d have to go down to the precinct, and I’ll find him there, correct?”_

_“Yes, and of course given your connections, no one should be surprised by your presence,” Shido says as if it’s meant to make her feel more comfortable by the situation. They both know it only makes her feel worse, “I’ll make sure the police officers there won’t even think to question you, including the guard. He’ll be one of ours. The guard will have to be disposed of too, unfortunately.”_

_The guard and police officers aren’t what worries her, there’s someone else who she knows will somehow try to get in the way, “What about Akechi Goro? He’ll have access to the building too, I’m sure he’ll try to break Amamiya out of there.”_

_“Do not concern yourself with him,” Shido insists, “I will make sure he doesn’t get to the police station before you and once you dispose of their leader, your job is done. If you happen to run into the detective, do not get provoked, all you are there for is to finish the job.”_

_Her rivalry with Akechi isn’t something she’s ever told Shido, but it comes as no surprise that he somehow knows how easy it is for the detective to get under her skin, “Very well, sir.”_

* * *

The cab ride back to Leblanc, undeniably, is a little awkward. They both look out of their respective windows, refusing to talk about the situation, at least until Makoto gets curious and starts asking him questions, ignoring the fact that the cab driver would hear it all, “How did we end up in the Metaverse?”

Goro continues to look out of the window but explains the situation to her, “I tapped into your employers’ phone, and through several phone calls I realised the only person he could be talking to is you. I came up with a plan and asked Futaba to hack into your phone during one of our meetings. She allowed me to remotely activate your MetaNav from my phone as well as track your location.”

Makoto nods slowly, “You knew we’d try to slow you down so I could get to the station before you?”

Goro nods, “It made sense, you clearly knew my whereabouts and had already gotten in my way through transportation alone, so I let you use one of your drivers to drop me off at the precinct after you, all the while observing your movements from my phone,” he continues onto his explanation, “While the others thought I was the culprit, Ren knew I wasn’t, so we made use of that. You all confirmed that the precinct and you yourselves hadn’t changed in Niijima’s cognition of it, something Ren and Futaba later relayed back to me. So, I sent you there as soon as you had entered the building, without you even noticing.

I knew you were going to try and kill Ren, as well as the guard outside, so I let you do that as well. Except you didn’t know it was the cognitive version of Ren. Meanwhile the real one was actually getting safely moved away from there by your sister. I also knew you would be waiting to make sure I had seen and left the body just as it was, that the cameras would catch that moment and your employer would make sure that the moment where you walked in and out would be deleted. Instead, I stayed, putting physical ointment on myself that would eventually confuse you once you tried to shoot me, and give me the chance to stop you.”

After some pause, Makoto begins to shake her head, “That plan is ridiculous. And what if it hadn’t been me? Were you so certain in your deduction that you were willing to risk Ren’s life over it?”

Goro shakes his head, “Of course I wasn’t. I suggested many countermeasures, such as hacking everyone’s phone, an entirely new plan, but Ren himself told me he believed in my work. Turns out he had more faith in my deductions than any of us did.”

“Hmph,” Makoto huffs, turning back to the window. The conversation ends there, and not even the cab driver tries to ask what the hell they were talking about.

A phone begins to ring in the cab, and Makoto pulls it out, knowing exactly who it’s from. She glances over to Goro, knowing he most likely planned for something like this to happen beforehand. Goro nods, “Tell him you’ve completed your task. It should hold him off for the time being.”

* * *

When they’ve gone through the door, everyone is already there, including Ren, who Goro hopes, as they arranged, explained to everyone the reality of the situation. Goro notices them all sighing in relief when they walk through the door, but it’s shortly followed by anger.

Ann goes first, arms folded, “I want to say that you better have a good explanation for what you’ve done, but I’m not sure your actions are deserving of that.”

Makoto glares at her, folding her own arms, “You don’t understand my circumstances at all, so who are you to judge me so quickly?”

Goro locks up the café doors and leans on them, just in case she decides to make a break for it, “We’re aware you’re working for Shido Masayoshi, the diet member, but thus far I’ve still not been able to solve why exactly you’ve been causing mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. You said once that what you were doing wasn’t entirely unjust,” Goro remembers.

* * *

_"You could help me out because in the end what I am doing is just..."_

* * *

“Was that just a lie to convince me to think otherwise?”

Makoto shakes her head, and looks down, “I… this is going to take some time to explain if you’re all willing to listen. I'm not going to say that I'm innocent in all of this... but maybe it'll help you all understand the situation.”

Ren stands up before Ryuji, Ann or Haru decide to raise their voices against her, “That’s why I wanted Goro to bring you back here. I’m open to giving you a second chance, but it’s going to take a bit more than that to convince the others.”

* * *

_"_ _We’re so sorry for your loss… to lose a father at such a young age is dreadful.”_

_There are more people that keeping on coming up to her, but she ignores them when the same sentiments and phrases start repeating themselves. But who cares about pity and empathy? They weren’t going to bring her father back, or bring the men involved to justice._

_It was some accident, a truck driving right into him, but Makoto knows better than that. Now when he was going after a major target, and she’s supposed to believe it’s an accident? But what’s there to investigate if the police already determined there was no malicious intent behind it? How could they, the men who worked for her father, who supposedly respected him, suddenly turn their backs on not just him but his family?_

_They could shove those condolences. They weren’t going to fix anything._

_Her sister has to deal with something after the funeral, leaving Makoto with the choice of waiting for her among these fakers or the option of going home alone. Which leaves her with walking down a surprisingly empty street, though Makoto doesn’t even take notice of it. She barely even takes notice when she enters Shibuya train station, but it looks nothing like the one she used to travel to school normally._

_There’s black roots crawling on the floors and walls, everything is tinted red and the only noise she can hear is the wail of god knows what coming from beyond the gates. She looks up, taking in the strange world she was in, all the while trying to remain calm. She could run, escape from this place but who knew what lay beyond this nightmare?_

_When she looks around, she spots glowing, blue barred doors and a small girl with an eyepatch standing next to it, as if waiting for her to do something, “Well?! Are you coming or not?! I don’t have time to just stand around here all day while you make up your mind!”_

_With little options, Makoto follows the snappy girl in through the cell doors. Immediately her vision goes white, and when her eyes finally adjust to her surroundings, she’s no longer in the nightmare version of Shibuya station but instead, she’s looking at a long nosed man sitting at a desk, the girl from earlier and presumably her twin standing at the cell doors she’s looking through now, “W-what? Where am I?” Makoto demands answers._

_The man chuckles and speaks to her in a deep voice, “Welcome to the Velvet Room, Avenger. I have brought you to this world between mind and matter to discuss your current predicament. You’ve been wronged by society, failed by those in power, and it angers you.”_

_Makoto nods, gripping tightly onto the bars, “Yes, but I’m only fifteen. Are you saying there’s something I can do to change all of it? If this is a place between reality and dream like you’re implying, then is it also possible to go back in time?”_

_The man looks briefly surprised, before shaking his head, “You’re quite eager to believe in the truth. Good, this makes matters much simpler. Unfortunately, repeating the past and altering it is a tricky thing, and even if you were to save your father from that accident, another predicament would befall him to rebalance reality. However… it is not too late to punish those who should be brought to justice for their wrongdoings.”_

_This place, it’s all wrong, there’s so much of it that Makoto believes is a dream but… well, right now anything is better than reality, “That won’t be something I get without giving something in return, correct?”_

_The man nods, “It will all be explained in due time.”_

* * *

“I found myself trapped in the Metaverse not long after my father’s death,” Makoto explains, the rest of the Thieves sticking to their promise of hearing her out, “I awoke to my other persona, Morrigan, not too long after that. I was furious at the world, and with no clear direction, I just began… experimenting. I found out more and more about the cognitive world as I kept entering Mementos, and in the real world, I recovered my fathers’ documents and got the names of everyone my father was investigating. Eventually, I found them all in the Metaverse, and took down everyone’s Shadows… I didn’t know that a simple change of heart would get them to confess but I thought if I removed their Shadows and their dark desires, they’d all stop committing those crimes. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the only thing I thought I could do at the time.”

Sitting at the bar and sipping on coffee, Goro lowers his cup briefly, “That was when the first major case of the mental shutdowns occurred… I see… they had nothing to do with the conspiracy at large, just your own revenge.”

Makoto nods, looking down at the ground, “I… they aren’t all dead. But… There’s only one thing I truly regret from taking that kind of action. I was certain they were all hardened criminals, ones that had killed before and were going to kill again, I believed in my father’s investigation… but I got careless, and I didn’t realise that there was footage of me stealing the files.”

* * *

_As soon as Makoto rips open the envelope, photos come falling out of it and onto her bed, ones of her entering her father’s office at the police station, looking through his office, and leaving with the files he left behind. The others showed a different scene, one of her suddenly disappearing from reality as she entered the Metaverse, and alongside all of the incriminating evidence, a note is left behind._

_She picks it up with shaking hands and reads it,_

_‘ **I have no intention of exposing any of this and what you have done. All I ask for is a meeting, one to discuss your future.’**_

* * *

“The address led me to the Diet Building,” Makoto continues her explanation, “And of course… Shido. He wanted to make use of my power, teach me how to make the most of it, how to control it, in exchange for his silence. I was foolish to think he would stay true to his word, but I was fifteen, and I couldn’t let my sister see what had become of me… so I agreed. He promised that all of his targets were deserving of such treatment anyway, which helped… until they weren’t. But by then, when I wanted to back out of it all, when I stopped caring as to whether I would pay for my crimes, he began to threaten my sister… and I knew how real that threat was. I've been trying to collect evidence against him but he's smart, he doesn't leave any trace behind."

Goro nods slowly as he takes all of the information in, “It’s why you asked me to have your sister moved somewhere safe, correct?” Makoto nods, “Hmm… In which case it would appear as if Shido were the one to blame for most, if not all of it… you were merely the pawn in his plan.”

“So, you’re not going to arrest me?” Makoto asks with genuine surprise, “It’s what I deserve, for all of it.”

The detective shrugs, empties his cup and sets it down onto the counter with a soft clink, “Perhaps you are correct, but arresting you now of all times would be quite problematic. You see, arresting you would lead to your certain death, and Niijima’s too. An assassin is easily replaceable for someone like Shido, and you’re one that knows far too much. It is safer for all of us for now if you act as if you have fulfilled your duty.”

It’s not just Makoto’s eyes that widen, but everyone else’s too. Ryuji goes so far as to jumping out of his seat and onto his feet, throwing his hands up into the air, “Wait, don’t that mean that everyone’s gonna think you killed the leader of the Phantom Thieves?! Everyone’s gonna be on the lookout for you!”

Goro closes his eyes and sighs, “I’m well aware of that. Which is why, until we take down Shido, Ren and I will have to go into hiding. After we send the calling card, we’ll reveal that Ren is in fact alive and all charges will be dropped against me.”

Makoto shakes her head, looking down and smirking at the same time, “It won’t hurt that you’ll be hailed as a hero for solving one of the biggest cases to date while being wrongly accused, am I right?”

Goro shakes his head, “There’s only one thing I’m after, and fame isn’t it…” he finally looks up from his cup and right at Makoto, “You once told me your employer had forced you to get rid of everyone involved in the murder of my mother. Why then, did Shido have my mother killed?”

Makoto looks away, “about a year ago when you were becoming famous, Shido had me kill a hitman and a social worker. He claimed it was something to do with his past, and at the same time he had me keep an eye on you. He didn’t even know you had your own persona, so I found the whole thing suspicious. It was almost impossible to look into, but I knew that you were somehow connected to Shido’s past, one he’s desperately trying to keep buried, and doing a good job of that.”

Goro huffs, gets out of his chair and heads for the door, “Then you were lying to me about knowing everything too. I should have known…”

Ryuji runs over before the detective can reach for the handle and blocks his path, “You’re wanted for murder, remember? Everyone’s gonna have their eye out for you.”

Goro shakes his head and reaches for the handle regardless, “The news hasn’t broken yet, and I have some files to retrieve from school.”

“At night?” Yusuke questions, “Will it not be closed?”

“I have ways to get in,” Goro opens the door, and it hits Ryuji in the back. The runner folds his arms, not budging while the other glares at him, until eventually it’s the blond who backs down.

“Well, guess I can’t stop you from doing dumb shit anyway,” Ryuji admits and goes back to his seat, “Better now than later I guess.”

Ren gets up and follows Goro, “I’ll go with you-.”

Goro shakes his head, “No, Ren. If I get caught, I’ll just be arrested, and you can all still go to Shido’s Palace and prove my innocence. If you’re caught, then the whole plan is ruined. It will be for the best if I do this on my own…” Ren’s not buying it in the slightest judging by not only his, but pretty much everyone else’s expression, “Well. It’s not like I need permission from any of you regardless,” with those words, he leaves Leblanc, going out into the darkness, where no one can see him cry and rip his hair out in anger and frustration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it was Makoto in the end! But with this many chapters left, we all know that's not the end of this story ;)


	33. Naive If They're Too Kind

Goro makes sure to call Niijima just before he gets onto the train to explain how he was simply worried that after their plan had seemingly failed, she would get caught up in everything, which is why he had Sojiro take her to the Okumura residence for her safety. He decides to leave the rest of the explanations to Makoto, so once he’s done, he hangs up on her and switches his phone off completely.

When he finally comes back to Leblanc, looking no different than he did when he left, outside of the files he's carrying in his hands that he made sure to leave in his school locker the night before, he finds that Ren’s still awake, sitting at his desk making tools while Morgana’s already sleeping on his bed.

“Everyone’s gone home now, including Makoto,” Ren informs him without looking up. He’s still in the bloodied school uniform he wore in the interrogation room, “I figured if you left her to us then you trusted whatever decision we came to.”

“She has nowhere to run regardless,” Goro says, “It’s now to her benefit to help us change Shido’s heart.”

“Is that whose keywords you were trying to figure out the other day?” Ren asks, getting out of his chair so he can finally change, “That paper with all of those crossed out words…”

Goro drops the files on the desk, then sits down on the bed, balances his elbows on his knees and puts his face into his gloved hands. Morgana seems to stir awake, but the cat only hops off the bed, drags his legs over to the sofa and falls right back asleep once he's on it, “Yes. Tomorrow I will ask her about it, but I assumed neither you nor I were in the right mindset to deal with that tonight.”

He feels the mattress dip when Ren takes a seat next to him, and Goro looks up to find the other teen rubbing his red, bruised and swollen wrists from the handcuffs he was put in. Goro removes his gloves, takes Ren hands and begins to rub them for him, “I apologise for putting you through all of that… I should’ve known the police would have been this rough… I saw the syringes in Niijima's cognition, and I have to assume they weren't just a part of her imagination.”

Ren shakes his head, still looking down at his wrists, “You didn’t know that, and I can’t blame you for what they did. Besides, I should be thanking you anyway, for taking a bullet for me.”

Goro chuckles and shakes his head, “It was just another mission in the Metaverse, if I wasn’t going to be fine then Loki probably would have tried to intervene... one way or another.”

Ren pulls his wrists away and look over at the detective, “Speaking of… you could control him before, right? What changed?”

Goro stands up and walks over to the cardboard box himself so he can borrow some more of Ren’s clothes for the night, “I… I’m not quite sure actually. It may have simply been the stress of the mission, worry that I would mess up in some way, manifesting itself as my lack of control over the most unstable Persona,” he lies. Of course, there’s way more to it than just that, but asking Ren about it now didn’t feel like something Goro wanted to get into... now that…

Right.

He couldn’t go back to his apartment; the police would search it first thing.

“Ah… slightly off topic, but I suppose until we change Shido’s heart I’ll have to stay here, for more than just one night that is… if that’s alright with you?” Goro asks and Ren smiles in return, then points out of the window with his thumb.

“Not unless Sojiro starts asking you to work here part time too… he’s taken in one criminal I guess, two wouldn’t make that much of a difference,” Ren jokes, and the surprising light tone he’s adding to the conversation makes Goro feel far less stressed about the coming days. However, it’s short lived, “What was so important you had to risk getting arrested?”

“A copy of the files I keep at home and at work,” Goro explains, picking up the bloodied uniform from the floor, “I can go wash these for you if you’d like.”

Ren shakes his head, “I’ll go,” he gets up and tries to take the uniform from him, but Goro refuses.

“You just spent the last 24 hours drugged and beaten by the police; you must be exhausted.”

Ren smiles, acting like he had no idea what Goro was talking about, “you’ll be amazed by the healing powers of Leblanc’s coffee,” Goro doesn’t bother hiding his disbelief, “I’ve dealt with worse. I’ll be fine.”

That concerns Goro. He knew Ren got arrested once before, and the Metaverse was hardly a pleasant place but was there seriously some experience that Ren deemed worse than that one?

“Is there something you’re not telling me, Ren?”

Ren waves his hand and goes back to bed, “I wasn’t being serious… just hoping to get you to calm down a bit. But since washing my uniform will clearly make you feel better, then go for it.”

* * *

_The next time he wakes up, Goro is in some kind of apartment, and alone. The bed is much larger than either Ren’s or his own in his own apartment, and the walls are completely bare. At first, he thinks he’s in some kind of hotel, but looking out of the window, he's certain he's still in Shibuya, although he can't place where this hotel would even be._

_He hears his phone ringing, and presumably that’s what had woken him up in the first place, so he reaches for it. The number pops up as blocked, but it’s the middle of the night, so who would be calling him at this hour?_

_If it’s an automat he swears he’s just going to burn down whatever company is trying to sell him garbage at 3 AM, “Hello?” He asks, voice a little rasp from sleep._

_“There’s an urgent job you must attend to,” Shido’s voice says over the phone, “You’ll find your task in your mailbox. I expect to hear back about this in the morning, understood?”_

_“Yes sir,” he replies, as if by habit. Sir? Why the hell was Shido asking him to do a job? And why was Goro so willing to go along with it like it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary to call up a high schooler you barely know at 3. In. The. Morning._

_Why didn’t Goro justifiably tell Shido to go fuck himself?_

_Or at least, in order to keep up the good boy detective persona, to call him in the morning since he’s got class the next day and needs a full nights rest._

_No, he doesn’t have class. Because he’s now a murderer, at least in the eyes of the police. He shouldn’t be in this random location, Shido shouldn’t be calling him like they have some sort of agreement, he should be back in Ren’s bed, waiting for the opportunity to steal the Shido’s heart with the rest of the Phantom Thieves._

_And just when he’s certain he can hear someone knocking on his door, he’s falling asleep again._

* * *

He doesn’t tell Ren about his weird dream, they were just getting odder and odder, making less and less sense each time, making him look like he was the Black Mask when even Makoto herself had admitted to it.

Besides, he can’t tell him when the other isn’t even in bed.

Goro looks around the room as soon as he’s out of bed, and while he can’t see Ren, he can hear the sound of dishes clinking downstairs. He reaches for his phone to check the time but remembers he turned it off the day before. A troubling thought comes to his mind, and as soon as it’s there, he reaches into Ren’s cardboard box and pulls out his freshly washed school uniform.

Looking around the room, he finds a hair tie in Ren’s desk draw among a bunch of other items, and as soon as he’s wearing the uniform that’s just a little too short on him and put’s his hair up, he grabs Ren’s schoolbag, shoves his phone inside and goes downstairs, taking two steps at a time.

Ren looks over from the sink as soon as he hears the detective get to the café, “Good morning- what are you doing?”

“Leaving my phone in your school before the police tracks it, then getting myself a new one,” Goro informs him, “Do you have a face mask I could use?”

Ren shakes his head, turns off the tap and wipes his hands. He’s already wearing clothes as well, but it’s a hoodie and jacket rather than the school uniform Goro was wearing, “I’ll go get one for you.”

He pulls up his hood, unlocks the front door and leaves. Since the café's closed, Goro isn’t worried that someone would come in and recognise him, but just in case someone decides to peak through the windows and recognises his face, Goro turns to the sink and finish the dishes for his boyfriend.

It takes Ren less than ten minutes to get back with a white face mask in hand, “Are you sure this’ll be enough?”

Goro nods and takes it from him as soon as his hands are dry, “It has been in the past, yes. Ah, one more thing… could I borrow some money for the new phone? I don’t have much in change and I’m fairly certain my account is going to be monitored now that I'm a wanted man.”

Ren reaches into his back pocket and hands Goro his entire wallet, “Just don’t get spotted, alright?”

* * *

He manages to pull off the disguise, or so he seems to think so when no one even questions him as he walks into the school. Apart from Makoto, who pulls him aside when she spots him on the second floor, “What do you think you’re doing?!” She says in a whisper, “What if someone realises it’s you?!”

Goro rolls his eyes, and removes her hand from his arm, before straightening out Ren’s blazer, “I’ve never been spotted before, even in the days when the media hunted me down.”

“I was able to follow you.”

“You knew what to look for,” Goro points out, “They never thought someone as prim and proper as I would go so far as to disguise myself, I used that to my advantage. The police won’t think I’d be going to all the places where the man I supposedly killed would go. I have no real reason to be here in their eyes.”

Makoto huffs, but with few other arguments to make that she's certain he won't dismiss, she folds her arms and stops arguing with him, “Well? Is there something I can help you with that won’t get me, Ren or you killed?”

Goro pulls out his phone and gives it to Makoto, “If the police comes by and asks, say that you found this under Ren’s desk,” she takes the phone without question and puts it in her own pocket for safe keeping, “Other than that, I was hoping you’d give me Shido’s keywords.”

Makoto furrows her eyebrows, “Look, I’m hardly gonna start being friendly with you now of all times but I’m also not going to be part of some suicide plan you seem to have.”

“Suicide plan?” Goro asks for clarification.

It’s Makoto’s turn to roll her eyes, “You could wait until this afternoon, when we’re meeting up and discussing it, but instead you come here, presumably behind Ren’s back or at least under the pretence of dropping your phone here, and ask me for Shido’s keywords? I’m assuming to go after him yourself so you can find out the truth? Maybe even get some kind of revenge?”

“Since when do you care about my wellbeing?”

Makoto leans against the wall, “I told you before, I have somewhat of a vested interest in keeping you alive for a deal I made.”

“Even if I’d rather side with Ren over you?” Goro raises his eyebrow, guessing she’s talking about whatever deal she and Igor made.

“We’re all on the same side now, aren’t we?” Makoto asks rhetorically, “We’ll see how things turn out. Regardless, having a wildcard on our team other than Ren is the kind of advantage we’ll need for that Palace.”

_A wildcard?_

“You have Morrigan and Anat, can you not-.”

Makoto shakes her head, “Morrigan and Anat are one and the same, as was Johana before. It’s an ability Morrigan has, to conceal herself and appear as a different persona altogether. It first appeared when the Phantom Thieves did. It's the same reason for why I'm able to hide behind the black mask.”

“Around the time Ren awakened to his persona and you knew you’d have to try and deceive more than just me?” Makoto nods, “Hard to think of it as coincidence… although right now is not the time for that. If you’re not going to give me Shido’s keywords now, I suppose we’re done here,” he turns to leave, but Makoto pulls him back once more, “What now?”

Makoto looks down and sighs, “As much as it pains me to say it… I really do need you, and Ren, and the others to get me out of this situation. If you want me to, I’m willing to turn myself in when the time comes.”

Goro nudges his arm away from her and turns his back, “And as much as it pains _me_ to say this… I’m not going to arrest you, even once we have Shido. My job ends the moment Shido has paid for his crimes. The rest of the country can go to hell after that for all I care. As for you... well, I'll leave it for the Phantom Thieves and your own morality.”

* * *

As soon as he’s back in the attic after another failed mission of figuring out Shido’s keywords on his own while sitting in the back of a rather unpopular cafe, he finds Ren looking through the files he left on the desk on the night before, “This is everything you’ve collected since your mother was murdered, isn’t it? That’s why it was so important to you.”

Goro nods, removing the face mask and blazer as soon as he sets down Ren’s schoolbag on the table, “I had a feeling that as soon as the police would find those, Shido would have them destroyed. They aren’t the originals, but I’m fairly certain all of the real documents I had are already nothing but ash.”

Ren continues to flip through them carefully, making sure not to ruin the remaining copy of the documents Goro has, “I’m sorry for prying, but I figured if you left them out in the open you wouldn’t have minded. But… with everything that Makoto’s said, aren’t these a little, uh…” Ren trails off, struggling to find the right words given the situation.

“Outdated? Useless?” Goro asks and Ren confirms with a nod, “I have nothing to remember my mother by. No photos, no trinkets she might’ve left behind. I lost everything after social services took me away. It’s morbid, but my notes and files I’ve been writing on the case are all that I have left of anything close to that time. That isn’t the only reason,” He walks over to the files and flips to one of the first few pages, “As young as I was, I made sure to write down everything I witnessed that evening. Once I knew the police wouldn’t solve the case, I made sure to never forget what happened, even the small details,” he points to a passage where the writing is clearly left by a much younger version of himself as shown by the misspellings and clumsy writing, but it’s all there, “It’s the only thing that won’t let me forget…”

Ren reads over it as best as he can, and Goro lets him do that while changing into his own washed clothes. He opts out of the tie and school jacket since he knows just how redundant they were now that he’s stuck in the attic.

“This is pretty vivid for a…?”

“Eight-year-old,” Goro tells him, “And yes, I’m fully aware of that. I told you once before I never had a childhood. Even when my mother was alive, a bastard child like me wasn’t allowed to act his age. I grew up constantly having to prove myself, proving that I had some kind of worth to society.”

Judging by Ren’s expression, the other clearly doesn’t know what to say, but they’re interrupted when the bell downstairs chimes and they can hear Ryuji practically shouting about the Phantom Thieves meeting upstairs. Both of the wildcards sigh, “Business as usual,” Ren comments before closing the file.

* * *

While the others move the table and chairs in the attic around so that it will fit everyone, Sojiro closes the café which gives Ren and Haru the chance to make coffee downstairs. Once they’re all ready, Goro takes a seat where Ren usually sits, while Ren chooses to stand behind Goro this time, “Makoto, you know Shido’s keywords, don’t you?” Goro asks.

“I think we can all agree that we need to go after him, right?” Ann asks and everyone nods.

Haru raises her hand as if to say something, “Um… should we not try and interact with him first? Perhaps if we are total strangers, we may not even have access to his Palace.”

Everyone turns to Makoto, who puts a hand to her chin in thought, “I’ve had no problems actually walking into the Palace, although that may be because I have access to the Diet building and his office. Goro may not have those issues either as he has met with Shido there before... although he'll be extra cautious and on guard now, even if he thinks Ren's dead and Goro's an outlaw.”

“He is a politician currently running for office,” Yusuke points out, “Since that is the case, he is one of the most public figures we have gone after to date.”

“He’ll be super guarded though, like Makoto said. Even without the whole Phantom Thieves thing, he's probably being careful not to ruin his chances,” Futaba points out.

“Then perhaps all it means is that there will be far more Shadows in his Palace?” Haru suggests, “Certain areas of his Palace may be harder to access I suppose.”

Futaba types something up, pulls up a page and turns her laptop around, “Well, he claims he’s always ready to listen to the public’s concerns on his campaign page.”

“Bullshit,” Ryuji comments and Goro scoffs.

“Of course, it’s bullshit,” He agrees, “But it could mean his Palace won’t be too difficult to infiltrate, at least on the surface. Makoto? Thoughts?”

Instead of Makoto, it’s Ren who gives his own opinion on the matter, “He’s campaigning, right? If we make ourselves known to him, we shouldn’t have a problem.”

Ann sighs, leaning forwards and putting her chin in her hand as she leans her elbow against the table, “Yeah, but you two can’t go outside and we have no idea where he’ll be campaigning.”

Futaba already starts looking up where the politician might be, while Ryuji reaches for the TV to switch it on. Unfortunately, it’s not Shido they see on the screen but one of their friends,

“Breaking news, former detective Akechi Goro has been charged with murder after arresting and killing the leader of the Phantom Thieves at the police station in Shibuya. Little is known about why the detective went to such extremes, though it is suspected that pressure from the public and the police may have resulted in him breaking down. He is considered armed and dangerous-.”

Goro scowls at the TV, leaning forwards as the report continues, “Of course they’d show me in the worst possible light. Still, it has taken them far longer than I expected to inform the media about this.”

“Definitely can’t leave now,” Ryuji comments, and with the story moving on to that of a fire breaking out somewhere in the city, Ryuji mutes the TV, “Well that gave us nothing.”

Futaba once again turns her laptop around, “It gave me some time to figure out that right about now, Shido should be giving a speech just outside Yongen-Jaya station.”

The chair Goro was sitting on scrapes against the wooden floor as he quickly rises up, grabs the face mask and jacket he borrowed from Ren earlier and tries to put them both on as he heads downstairs. The Thieves call out to him, but he’s already on his way out of the café before any of them catch up.

“Wait! Crow!” Ren shouts after him, careful not to say his real name out in public right after the news report.

Goro ignores him completely and runs towards the station, with Ryuji catching up to him first and pulling him back before he gets to the corner, “Are you out of your effin' mind?!”

Goro shakes his head and readjusts the face mask, “I’ll be sure to blend in with the rest of the crowd. All of you can get his attention you believe it’ll improve our chances inside the Palace.”

When Ren catches up to them, he puts his hand on Ryuji’s and moves it away, “They won’t be looking for him here anyway. Let’s go.”

Reluctantly, Ryuji agrees, and follows Goro through the alley, with Ren and Yusuke behind them. It’s probably for the best that Makoto stayed behind with the others, Goro thinks as he tries to stay in the back of the crowd while Shido gives his speech.

He doesn’t listen to a word the man says, knowing it’s all bullshit anyway, but he observes his mannerism and the way he’s speaking, different from how he spoke to Makoto over the phone and Goro when they first met. As much as he hated to admit it, just like Goro, Shido knew how to play the crowd to his advantage with carefully thought out tone and language.

“You okay?” He hears Ryuji ask someone behind him. Turning around, Goro sees Ren holding his hand to his head and wincing.

Ren slowly shakes his head, “Y-yeah… uh… I just remembered something…” he opens his eyes and looks over to Shido again, “He’s the guy that had me arrested for assault.”

“Shido?” Yusuke asks, and looks between him and the politician, “That’s… quite the coincidence.”

Goro agrees with Yusuke on that but refrains from speaking. It would be bad if he was caught this early merely by someone recognising his voice, and in front of Shido too.

Once the politician is done, Ryuji makes his way through the crowds, barely apologising as he moves people out of the way so he can get to the car before Shido does. Yusuke follows him, with Goro and Ren staying behind. Goro looks over to him, hoping the other will understand what he means by his worried look.

Ren picks up on it pretty quickly, “I’ll be fine. If he’ll acknowledge Ryuji and Yusuke, it’ll probably be enough to acknowledge the rest of us. Once they’re done, we’ll go steal his heart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sadly... I think I've hit a bit of a block. On the up side, they're usually quite short and I wrote this chapter just before it so hopefully it'll be gone by the time I want to update again.


	34. Careless If They're Too Bold

Crow looks out onto the horizon when they enter the cruise ship Palace, watching the buildings around the collapse into the endless ocean as Shido’s cruiser safely passes them by. Oracle is the next to notice the change, turning away from the diet building to watch the buildings pass by next to Crow, “Woah…”

Fox turns around, and soon, everyone else follows his lead, “So this is what he truly thinks of the country. A place where only the select few will succeed while the rest are left to drown. It’s… appalling.”

Skull shakes his head, “No, it’s sick is what it is. We gotta change that bastards’ heart before he ruins the country!”

Joker turns back towards the Diet building and puts his hands in his pockets, “No time to waste then. Let’s go,” he says monotonously, and everyone follows him like nothings wrong. Crow fast walks enough so he’s walking alongside their leader.

“This place won’t be just another Palace, you are aware of that, yes?” Crow asks and Joker doesn’t turn his head to him as he walks over to the doors of the Diet building.

Joker reaches for the door, and as soon as they’re through, everyone’s school uniforms disappears in a blue flame, replaced by their Phantom Thief gear, sans Crow and Queen, who appear in their darker costumes, Queen’s black mask covering almost her entire face, “Of course I’m aware of it,” Joker answers, “We all have to be more careful with how we act from here on out. Queen, does your persona still have healing magic?” When Queen nods, Joker turns his back on the others, “then you’re with me. Noir, Fox, you’re on the frontlines too, everyone else, backup.”

It’s one of the first times Crow ends up stepping in front of Joker to object his decision, “Why should I be back up? Queen and I are stronger than everyone here, would it not make more sense for me to join in?”

“Can you summon Robin Hood?” Joker asks.

“Loki’s far more powerful than Robin Hood,” Crow counters.

Joker shakes his head, “But Loki’s unpredictable and can’t heal if Queen and I are down. Besides, it doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop you from fighting at all.”

Joker walks past him, as do the others, and Crow can do nothing but stay behind with Panther, Skull and Mona as the others walk ahead, not when he has no good way to counter Joker’s argument. It’s true, especially now when Loki still refused to back off, Crow feels his control slipping away from the Persona.

* * *

The first obstacle they encounter is an obvious one, and upon learning about the letters of introduction they have to obtain from certain guests on the cruise ship, they all meet in the safe room, with Mona jumping onto the table and speaking, “Alright so, from the intel Joker and I gathered it looks like we need a letter from five different people in order to get to the chamber of representatives.”

Skull nods, “Yeah… uh, I ain’t got nothing on that, sorry.”

Mona rolls his eyes, “Well, did anyone else get any intel?”

Queen steps forward, “There’s a politician in a restaurant, his name is Ooe… I’ve been tasked before to cause mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns for him to further his agenda. No doubt he’ll be careful about who he talks to.”

Panther nods and follows up, “Sounds like someone Shido would want in his pocket. Alright, I found out that there’s some former noble on the ship who seems really important here. He tends to hang around the pool.”

“I discovered that another person who may have a letter of introduction is the president of a TV station. He likes to gamble and can usually be found spending all of his money lavishly on slot machines,” Fox informs them, and Crow clenches his fist.

“No wonder they were airing so many of my interviews throughout the year,” Crow shakes his head, “I’ve been so dismissive of the Phantom Thieves, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise that I shot their leader.”

Queen shakes her head, “That’s… half of the reason. The other was used to rerun Shido’s speeches, show to the public the incompetency of the current government and to incite doubt in the minds of voters… but once Shido came up with the plan to destroy you and kill Joker, he had the TV station rerun your old interviews as well.”

Oracle shakes her head, “That doesn’t matter right now anyway! It’s in the past and it’s not gonna change anything now. So, let’s focus on the next guy; I overheard something about an IT guy working for Shido… uh… Well, he might have something to do with that fake Medjed I guess? He usually hangs out in his room though. Can’t say I blame him.”

Everyone looks to Queen, who confirms with a nod, “Shido had him create the fake Medjed and boost your ratings on the Phan-Site, as well as tamper with the results of the polls on the Phan-Site so we would be sure you’d consider targeting Okumura.”

Mona goes last, “I heard about some guy called the cleaner, he’s apparently super cautious about what he does though, and he sounds dangerous so it might be hard to find him.”

“A cleaner?” Skull asks, “The hell does Shido need a janitor for?!”

Crow shakes his head, puts a hand over his mask and sighs, “Not _a_ cleaner, _the_ cleaner. Terms such as this are usually associated with someone who takes care of other people, the Yakuza for example.”

“Yakuza?!” Panther and Skull exclaim in unison.

Queen nods again, “Shido used him for jobs that would be too closely connected to him. Mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns usually made the news pretty quickly, so he wanted to distance himself from that as much as possible. It… was another person to keep me in line as well.”

“Perhaps we will run into him as we make our way through the ship,” Crow suggests, “And I suppose if we make too much commotion, he may try to seek us out and eliminate us himself.”

“We sure we wanna be facing off the Yakuza though?” Skull asks.

“It could be very dangerous,” Fox agrees, and Crow shakes his head.

“These are merely cognition's, not real people. We face no consequences in the real world for speaking with an assassin in the cognitive world… after all, there is a reason why we wear masks and use code-names, no?”

* * *

As soon as they make their way into the restaurant, Crow realises a huge problem with obtaining the letter of introductions in a passive manner lies in how much they stand out from the rest of the cognition's on the ship, namely, them being far younger than anyone else.

It proves to be most prominent in the fancy restaurant where Crow doesn’t think he sees anyone who looks under 45, compared to the oldest member of the Thieves at 18. Regardless, they stand by the door, trying to come up with a plan of attack, or specifically, how they can go about this without attacking anyone, “I’ll go talk to him,” Crow offers, “I doubt you would have talked to Shido’s clients directly so your presence may prove to be unnerving. As for the rest of you…” he stops himself from saying it.

“What’s wrong with us?” Skull insists he tell them.

Instead, Crow shakes his head. Getting into an argument about how unsubtle they all were would have the exact opposite effect, “Never mind. I’ll pretend to order something and when Ooe comes in, I’ll kindly request that as Shido’s admirer and someone who shares his values, I would love a letter of introduction,” even suggesting the plan makes him throw up in his mouth a little.

“Ain’t there gonna be super fancy food?” Skull asks, “If that’s the case, I wanna go too!”

“That’s not… forget it,” Crow shakes his head once more, and leads Skull to an empty table, where soon after a waiter hands them a menu in French, a language Skull struggles with the second he sees it’s not Japanese. Before he complains to the waiter, Crow butts in, “I’ll order for you. It’s unlikely we will get the chance to eat here anyway,” he motions to the door of the restaurant with his head when he sees the politician walk in, followed by some kind of posse.

With all the confidence in the world, the man walks right up to the table with his arms folded and clearly annoyed, “I believe that this is the table I had specifically reserved. I didn’t think Shido-san would allow children in here.”

As much as it angers Crow to be talked down to like this, he quickly glances to Skull who’s already got his fist clenched, and just when he’s about to say something that’ll definitely ruin their chances, Crow very loudly clears his throat, “Ah, Mr. Ooe, I apologise greatly for this, the staff had informed us that we were free to sit here, but I am deeply sorry that this is not the case… however, now that I have you, I was wondering… someone in your position of power must be close to Shido-san, yes?”

The tone that Crow uses seems to soften the politician only slightly, but he humours the detective, “Of course, but why would someone like you be curious about that I wonder. Is there something you’re after?”

Crow chuckles the way he always did, lightly and 100% fake, “Ah, you’re very insightful. You see, I am going to be taking entrance exams to the finest Japanese colleges, and I have always shared Shido-san’s values. Perhaps, if I may be so bold as to ask, you could give me a letter of introduction so I may inquire about his success? I hope it can serve as guidance for me and my future,” all of the sweet talking has Crow reconsidering the possibility of passively going about this.

Luckily for everyone involved, all of that bullshit works on Ooe, who reaches into the inside of his jacket and pulls out the very letter they’re after, “Well I suppose we will need fine men such as yourself to lead this nation once we are no longer able to. I’m certain Shido-san will be able to teach you everything he can,” he hands Crow the letter, who graciously accepts it, bowing his head in the process, “Of course, you must understand that in order to achieve such greatness, one must be willing to dirty their hands from time to time.”

“Ah…” Crow answers awkwardly, handing the letter over to Skull, “I suppose, once the time comes, I would be wiling to look the other way should the need arise.”

Ooe chuckles and shakes his head, “Ah, you are quite innocent. I’m not talking about bribes, my dear boy, although I suppose that is one way to go about this business. I’ve found the use of mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns to be a far quicker and more effective tool.”

It’s a path that Crow was certain everyone they were going to meet today was a part of, but he still wanted to avoid the conversation and leave the restaurant. Unfortunately, pretending like he was only after the letter and nothing else would lead the politician to immediately catch onto his lies, so Crow begrudgingly keeps the conversation going, “Oh? I have heard of them before and believed the Phantom Thieves to be involved… but if what you are saying is true, then you have benefitted from them in some way. Tell me, how did this help you?”

The politician waves his hand nonchalantly, “Oh I don’t think we have time to get into all of it… although to give a few examples, the accident in the subway back in April did leave a spot open for a new transportation minister that I helped assign. However, what truly helped the most was setting up the bastard son of a politician. It ended Masafumi-san’s career then and there, the man couldn’t even cope mentally with that kind of failure. At least it opened up a path for me.”

Crow pales upon hearing the name of a politician he never thought he’d have to hear again. If Makoto’s actions had resulted in Ikumi’s death then of course it would all go back to someone in Shido’s inner circle, but he never expected to find out straight from the man who ordered the hit himself, “I see… so you have no problem with murdering children if it earns you a seat in the Diet, or the fallout that may cause,” Crow begins to chuckle darkly, “That’s interesting, because I suppose I don’t have any such reservations about what happens on this ship either.”

“Crow…?” Skull asks, reaching towards his mask cautiously as he watches the persona user in front of him shed the mask of a pristine and collected student.

Crow shakes his head, “We got our letter of introduction, didn’t we, Skull? Then for all I care, this asshole can burn in hell. Loki!”

The mask disappears off of Crow’s face, and the Thieves run over as soon as the persona emerges, “What happened?!” Panther shouts over the sound of the other patrons screaming and running away.

Ooe’s form immediately melts away and changes into a Shadow, but it still takes a hit from Loki’s curse attack. Crow grits his teeth and tries again, this time throwing a fire attack at the Shadow,

“Wait Crow! You’ll drain all of your energy like that!” Oracle warns him and is promptly ignored when Crow tries to hit the Shadow with an almighty attack.

“Dammit!” Crow shouts when the attack isn’t enough to take down the Shadow, pulling out his lightsabre, “Why won’t you die already?!” He jumps at the Shadow, but in the last second, Joker steps between them,

“Siegfried!” Joker summons the persona by pulling off his own mask, who stands between him and Crow, blocking Crow’s attack and preventing him from hitting both Joker and Shadow Ooe, “Crow! Stand down!”

Bewildered by Joker’s command, Crow refuses to yield and raises his sabre again, “Stand down? Do you even know what this guy did to me?!”

“Now is not the time to solve grudges,” Noir warns Crow, stepping to Joker’s side. Turning her back on Crow, she summons her persona, “Astarte!” She calls out and the Shadow falls to the ground with her psychic attack. She points her grenade launcher at it, and everyone else follows her lead by pointing their guns at the Shadow, except for Crow and Joker.

“He isn’t real, Goro,” Joker tells him in a calmer tone, quiet enough so that only he can hear, “We’re after Shido, remember? He’s the one behind all of this, and when he goes down, so does everyone else. Remember? This is our only chance to get back at the man who destroyed our lives, but I need you to listen to me when I ask you to do something, got it?”

Crow looks to the Shadow, down on the floor and at the mercy of the Phantom Thieves, then back over to Joker. He’s right, of course, getting carried away would only ruin their chances, and it’s not something Crow can let himself do anymore, “Very well, I shall stay in the back as you have suggested.”

Joker nods turning around and pulling out his own gun to point it at the Shadow. He looks across to Noir and nods at her knowingly. She jumps back and replaces her grenade launcher with her battle axe, “Time to punish him!”

* * *

Even when the former noble, the TV station president or the IT specialist piss off one or more of the girls, in their anger at them they remain far more collected than Crow did in his outburst against the politician. They forcibly take the letter of introduction from most of them as none of the most important members of Shido’s inner circle are willing to give up the letter easily, and even when they do, they always seem to be connected back to one of the Thieves.

Crow hardly thinks its coincidence, but he sticks in the back as promised, saving up on the energy he had remaining from the single fight while everyone else gets pulled to the fore front.

There are a couple of occasions when Crow’s judgement and expertise earns him a place alongside Joker, specifically when the group are turned into mice and try to navigate through the various rooms in the ship without the ability to summon personas or open doors.

The second time is when they search for the cleaner, someone who even Queen didn’t know much about, and with the most knowledge about the Yakuza out of all of them, Crow stays at the front and leads the Phantom Thieves through the Palace in search of him.

Eventually, they reach a ventilation shaft that leads to the engine room, and Crow points to it, “It would make sense for Shido to want the man to stay as far out of sight from his other patrons as possible. Even the real Shido would try to keep his shady dealings on the downlow, and yet it is still an integral part of his conspiracy… therefore, I believe we may find the cleaner in there, if he does not find us first.”

The Thieves don’t question his logic, and all of them follow Joker through the ventilation shaft and down into the engine room, where, to none of their surprise, the cleaner awaits them along with his lackeys, “Heh, took all of you long enough to get here.”

“You didn’t trust your lackeys to take care of us earlier?” Queen asks him, and the man shrugs.

“Would’ve been pretty pathetic if they did, I’ll be honest,” The Yakuza admits and pulls out an envelope, similar to all the other ones the Thieves already had, “Heard you’re goin’ around lookin’ for these. Well, how do you plan on takin’ this one from me?”

Skull is already reaching for his bat upon hearing the question, “Well, talkin’ didn’t work out with everyone else, doubt it’s gonna work with a yakuza either.”

“I mean…” Oracle almost gives Skull some credit for being right in that regard, “No harm in trying, right?”

“What would a guy like him even want from us?!” Mona asks, whispering rather loudly among the group.

Crow rolls his eyes and steps in front of them all, reaching for his mask, “I take it you’re a busy man, and well, you have seen what we’ve made of the rest of Shido’s inner circle. We could fight this out, but three against nine hardly seems fair, and I’m certain you’ll have plenty of cleaning to do sooner or later. How about that letter of introduction then?” Crow extends his hand and the Yakuza laughs.

“Threatening a yakuza? You got balls kid, I’ll give you that,” the man puts the letter of introduction into his back pocket, “But I can’t just be giving these out to just anyone, how about this then; you beat me and I’ll consider you worthy to meet the boss. One on one fight, none of your friends giving you any back up or any of that buffing shit, got it?”

Crow sighs, retreating his hand, but he’s not at all worried about losing the fight, “Very well, I accept your challenge.”

“Seriously?!” Panther cries out.

“Are you insane?” Fox asks the detective, “We could fight all of them and-.”

Crow shakes his head, “I’ll make quick work of him,” reaching for his mask, Crow pulls it off and it bursts into a blue flame, “Loki!”

The trickster persona descends on the Yakuza, who transforms into a Shadow that manages to block Loki’s sword. The Phantom Thieves and the Yakuza’s lackey’s all stand back, giving them space to fight for the letter.

The Yakuza throws a curse attack at Crow, who barely takes a hit from it with Loki out, but just as a precaution, the detective casts a tetrakarn spell on himself, and continues with his physical attacks on the Shadow. Some of them land, only a couple miss, but with Crow’s carefully placed shields and attacks, the Shadow takes more damage than he deals.

He leans against his weapon to keep himself standing and chuckles, in this form his voice becoming far more distorted, “Huh… you really know how to use that power of yours… should’a known his kid would’ve come prepared.”

Crow stops in his tracks, pulling Loki back into his mask, “Who’s? Who are you talking about?”

The Shadow laughs, “Ain’t you supposed to be some ace detective, Akechi? You still don’t know shit about yourself, do you?”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

The Shadow shakes his head, “It means, Shido didn’t want to kill you like he did your mother, for whatever reason he had, but he still didn’t want you causing him any trouble. He needed someone keeping tabs on his bastard son.”

The revelation doesn’t hit Crow immediately, leaving him to stand in the middle of the room as he takes it all in, all eyes on him, “Shido… he’s not…” Crow closes his eyes and shakes his head, holding it with his hands as sharp pain surges through it, “No, it isn’t possible. Why would he even keep me alive?”

The Shadow shrugs, “Gotta take that up with him, kid. I’m just here to make sure you don’t fuck things up for him.”

Ripping his mask off, Crow summons Loki and runs at the Shadow. The persona launches at him, grabbing the Yakuza by the throat only to slam him down onto the ground, “No! You’re just another part of Shido’s cognition, so you know why he did it!”

“Crow!” Queen shouts after him, as does Panther and Skull, but it’s not enough to get through to him.

The Shadow laughs as he gets up, “You think you’re gonna beat info out of a Yakuza? We’re trained for this shit you know.”

Once more, Loki tries to reach for the Shadow, but without his shield up, the Yakuza manages to dodge Loki, and hits Crow square in the chest, sending him flying across the room, “You wanna keep doing this? I can keep goin’ all day if that’s what it takes.”

“Argh, enough of this bullshit!” Crow gets to his feet, clenching his fists, “All of my life I’ve bee told to keep quiet, stay out of the way and where the hell has that gotten me? Into some fucking engine room, where I’m still treated like a fucking child who doesn’t know shit and should know better than to question things. So, you have one final chance,” Loki appears once more and again, grabs the Yakuza by the throat, this time lifting him off of the floor and strangling him, “What the fuck does Shido want to do with me and my family?”

“Goro!” Joker cries out and Crow only lashes out at him,

“Stay out of this!” He bites back, and the hold on the Yakuza increases.

“I… don’t…”

The Shadow is thrown at the wall again, and when he tries to use Loki once more to fight the Shadow, Joker steps in, summoning Kurama Tengu to block Loki, “I thought I told you to stay out of this!”

“And I thought that-,” Joker tries to reason with him but this time, he fails to get through.

“What? Are you siding with that Yakuza scum over me now?!” Crow shouts and reaches for his mask, “You’re not here to help me uncover the truth at all, are you?! All of the secrets, plotting behind my back, you’re not here to help me, only to benefit yourself.”

“Why would you say that?” Joker inquires, Kurama Tengu now floating just above him while Loki re-joins Crow.

Crow shakes his head, chortling under his breath, a laugh that gets louder and louder, “I was an idiot for trusting you. You’ve been hiding your true self and intentions from all of us, and you’ve been stopping me from fighting anyone either. Tell me, Joker, are you perhaps afraid of my power? Or maybe, I should be afraid of yours?”

The persona above Joker disappears into his mask, “Goro… I… we can talk about this later, right now we-.”

“That isn’t a no,” Crow points out and points to the Yakuza, “I’m going to get that information out of him, and since you’ve been lying to me for who knows how long, I don’t much care for who I’ll have to go through to get to it… Even if I have to defeat you and whatever power you’re hiding.”

Oracle shakes her head, readings slowly appearing on her screen as she realises what Crow is about to do, “Wait! Crow you can’t do this! We’re on the same team!”

However, it’s far too late. The prospect of uncovering the truth, both of his mother’s murder and revealing what Joker’s been hiding this whole time are enough to drive him past any common sense.

Black and red smoke surround him as Loki swings his sword above, “Come, Loki!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I have no idea if my block is gone but I did write this sooooo... maybe? Well other than possibly mental health issues stopping me I hopefully will be able to write more often now.


	35. Showtime

“Oh crap, what’s going on?!” Skull shouts as red and black mist begins to circle Crow, and even he can’t seemingly control his own movements.

“Oh no…” Oracle calls out from inside Prometheus, “This isn’t good guys…! Crow’s made himself go psychotic! He’s not going to listen to reason or anything like that in this state!” She warns them, and Queen steps closer to Joker, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“You’ve dealt with him like this before, remember?” She asks him and he nods, “Think we can do it again?”

The other cognitions turn into Shadows themselves upon noticing that Joker had technically interfered in the fight, even if it was to stop his own teammate, and they themselves charge at the rest of the Phantom Thieves, all the while the Yakuza gets to his feet, “Take care of those Shadows. I’ll handle Crow, got it?”

“B-but-,” Queen tries to argue but is promptly cut off by Joker.

“Do it!” He shouts at her, runs closer to Crow and removes his mask, “Metatron!” He summons the angel and tries to hit Crow with an almighty attack; however, the detective is quicker, and he jumps out of the way, all the while laughing like a maniac.

“You really think I wouldn’t be prepared for that?!” He shouts and lunges at Joker with his lightsabre. The leader of the Thieves immediately pulls out his knife and blocks Crow from hitting him, although Crow himself doesn’t back off, instead trying to press down on the blade as much as he can, “Loki was right then, you really are hiding something, aren’t you?!”

“Loki?” Joker asks, moving his foot back so he can try and push back against Crow, “Goro, I know you’re angry but please, we can talk this out once we’re out of this Palace, I need you to-.”

“What?! Trust you?!” Crow shouts right into his face, “What bullshit reason are you going to give me this time?! You don’t even trust _me_! None of you do!” With a free hand, Crow reaches for his mask and pulls it off, summoning his persona once again. Loki swings around his sword, throwing a curse attack at Joker.

Joker tries to jump back and reach for his own mask, but it’s too late. The curse attack hits Joker, knocking him to the floor instantly. Crow uses the opportunity to run over and swing his blade down, but he’s blocked when Queen runs in and uses her serrated sword to block his lightsabre, “No!”

She reaches for her own mask and pulls it off, “Morrigan!” She exclaims, and the persona tries to wrap its chains around Crow like it did when they last fought, but this time, the attack doesn’t work at all, with Loki simply cutting away at them with his sword like the chains were made of paper.

Above them, Oracle flies in to explain, “Your power won’t work on him when he’s psychotic, you can’t hold him down. The best we can hope for is to take him out or hope the spell will wear off soon!”

Despite it not working, the spell distracts Crow long enough that Joker can get back up, pointing to the others who were caught up in their own fight without their leader, “I can handle this, go help the others. It’s me he’s mad at anyway.”

Once again, Crow runs at them and slashes away, but both Queen and Joker are able to block all of the frantic attacks that the detective throws at them with relative ease now that he’s going for two targets at once. Given the opportunity when Crow begins going after Joker more than he does Queen, she backs out of the fight again and runs over to the others, where she helps Mona with healing.

“You’re holding back, I know you are,” Crow tells him, and pulls out his ray gun. He aims it at Joker, with Loki floating right above him, “You didn’t hold back in Mementos when you knocked me out, so what bullshit reason do you have for doing it now?!”

Joker shakes his head and holds his hands up, “I can’t tell you… not yet.”

Crow clutches his head, shaking it violently and grunting like he himself is trying to stop all of this, but it only lasts a few seconds, and right after it, Crow’s pointing his gun at Joker again, “Why?! Tell me why the fuck you’re willing to trust Makoto over me! She knows, doesn’t she?! She saw it all and that’s the reason she ran away, isn’t it?! What is it going to take for any of you to trust me?!”

“Goro…” Joker says in a softer voice and takes a cautious step towards him. The more he looks at Crow’s face, the less psychotic and more distressed it seems. Even with him acting this way and pointing a gun at him, Joker’s confident Crow’s doing all of this out of despair, “I… I’m sorry. I never wanted to lie to you, or make you think I don’t trust you…”

“Then why don’t you tell me already?!” The gun in his hand shakes, and even his right, clenched fist is moving about, but Crow doesn’t take his eyes off of Joker even for a second.

“I can’t!” Joker tries to explain himself, but it’s too much for Crow.

“Bullshit!” The detective shouts and pulls the trigger, aimed right at Joker’s chest, followed up by another, albeit unexpected curse attack from Loki, who’s more out of control than ever before.

This time, Crow’s shout is warning enough for Joker, who switches his personas to protect himself and try and take out Crow with one hit, just like he did in Mementos before he nearly killed Queen,

“Satanael!” Joker shouts, and the mask on his face disappears in its only blue flame as the persona appears before him and absorbs the curse attack while mostly blocking the bullet. Without even giving Crow a chance to move, counter or even summon Loki and throw another attack at Joker, Satanael releases an almighty attack on not just Crow, but the remaining Shadows within range, taking them all out in a flash of purple energy.

Only silence follows up the devastating attack, with Crow passed out on the floor and the Shadows taken out completely, the Yakuza himself on his hands and knees with no power left. The rest of the Thieves don’t move, all of them watching Joker approach Crow, taking the ray gun out of his hand and pocketing it himself. He picks up the detective off the floor, and walks over to the nearby stairs, “Get the letter of introduction from him,” he commands, and Fox walks over to the Shadow.

He reaches into the inside pocket of the man’s jacket where he finds the letter, and the others follow Joker out of the engine room in silence, none of them wanting to question his orders, at least, not while they’re still in the Palace.

As they walk through the ship back to the door leading to the chamber of representatives, the cognition's around them look clearly alarmed when they notice Joker carrying a passed-out member of their group in his arms, but he ignores them completely and keeps walking forwards. It hardly makes a difference if Shido becomes aware of their presence now that they have all five letters of introduction.

Before getting to the chamber of representatives, Joker goes to the nearby safe room where he sets Crow down on a sofa inside and turns to his teammates, “Mona, Oracle, Skull, the three of you stay behind just in case.”

“What if he wakes up?” Skull asks and Oracle pulls up a holographic screen right in front of Crow, then shakes her head.

“He’s not getting up any time soon after that sort of blow. I can probably contact Joker if he does though, and the chamber isn’t too far from here,” she reassures Skull, understanding why Joker’s asking these people in particular to stay behind with him.

With no further questions for him, Joker leaves the safe room and almost runs into Queen, waiting for him just outside, “Even if I ask, you aren’t going to explain what happened back there, or in Mementos, to any of us, are you?”

Joker shakes his head, putting his hands into his pockets, “I need some more time, that’s all. For now, I’m still hoping you can trust me after that. I doubt he ever could.”

Queen shakes her head and puts a hand on his shoulder, “Hey… that’s not true. I’ve done so many horrible things and yet you trust me enough to have me join you here, in Shido’s Palace of all places. I know I can trust you, I’m sure the others think the same… as for Crow… you guys just have a lot to talk about, and it’s going to be extremely hypocritical coming from me of all people, but you’re going to have to be honest with at least him.”

“Yeah, I just hope it’s not too late.”

* * *

Even after getting back to the real world, Goro doesn’t wake up, leaving Ren in the awkward predicament of having to hold him up without Joker’s metaverse strength. Ryuji offers a helping hand, and Haru ends up calling for her chauffeur after Makoto points out how they’ll definitely get caught if they’re seen dragging a motionless body around.

Everyone manages to fit into the limousine, even if it is a tight fit, and Haru makes sure to put up a divider between them and the driver before any of them begin to talk about their situation. Morgana jumps out of Ren’s bag and hops into Haru’s lap, “Satanael’s the reason you had me lie to Goro, isn’t it?”

Ren shakes his head, “He’s my most powerful persona, but I don’t want to get into it, not yet.”

“Then when?” Ann asks, arm resting by the window while she looks outside, “You’re not gonna keep us in the dark about whatever it is your up to forever, are you?”

“December 25th,” Ren says, “I’ll answer everyone’s questions then, and only then. For now, I’m hoping you guys trust me enough to get through Shido’s Palace.”

The rest of the group, sans Goro of course, share looks between themselves, all with the same thing in mind. Ryuji says it first, “Guys an asshole anyway, might as well take him down. But uh, guys? Please tell me no one else is hiding anything or I’m gonna lose it.”

* * *

Goro only wakes up the next day, when the Thieves have long since gone back to their homes and Futaba’s talked about her master plan for the final calling card. Most of the day he stays silent, finding one of Ren’s books on his desk and deciding to read that instead of paying attention to the Thief. The only words exchanged are a thank you when Ren brings him up a plate of curry and a cup coffee, both made by Sojiro, but it’s the most he speaks when the sun is out.

It’s only once it gets dark and Goro finishes the book that any real words are at all spoken between the two, “Keep as many secrets to yourself as you want, Ren, it’s not my business, not entirely. But I do want to know, why did you stop me in Shido’s Palace?”

Ren pauses the video game he was playing, but he doesn’t turn around to face Goro and answer the question, “It’s complicated, but I was worried you were losing control of yourself. But I messed up, hoping you’d calm down and not go psychotic, but it had the exact opposite effect. I’m… glad nothing happened to you at least.”

“And if I had done something to you?” Goro asks and Ren shrugs.

“I would have forgiven you. We’re both alive now, aren’t we?”

“That’s a rather low bar,” Goro points out, setting the book down and getting out of his chair, “Regardless, I take it you’ve found Shido’s treasure, yes?” Ren nods, “Good. Then we can deal with the consequences of our actions after the jobs done. Are we in agreement?”

Ren turns around, ready to convince him to have that conversation Makoto suggested they have back in the Palace, “Goro, I-.”

“Are we in agreement?” Goro repeats again, clearly not looking for any debating or arguing from Ren’s side.

“We are,” Ren finally gives in, turning back around. As long as nothing goes wrong, they’ll have plenty of time to discuss things in the future.

Shido shouldn’t be that difficult to fight.

After all, Ren knows all the tricks up his sleeve.

* * *

The day after that, Leblanc gets a surprise visit from Makoto, and only Makoto. Despite none of the other Thieves showing up, she asks Sojiro to close up the café as they have important business to discuss, and even though the café is completely empty, Sojiro reluctantly closes up shop after she tells him Shido’s involved.

The two wildcards leave the attic, and Goro takes a seat in the booth nearest the stairs while Ren makes them all coffee. Makoto settles down opposite Goro, and just when she’s about to ask him about his well-being, Goro interrupts her before she can do so, “You have news about Shido, I take it?”

Makoto nods, “Last night he requested I meet with him. He wants me to eliminate all those that I think are suspicious within the conspiracy. I knew he wanted me to take them down after the election, but he’s clearly paranoid if he’s moving this up so close to the date. I think we may have had a greater impact on him than on any of our previous targets.”

“His Palace was quite different from the ones we’ve infiltrated before,” Goro agrees, folding his arms, “I suppose for your benefit then, we should target him as soon as possible. All that remains is sending out the calling card, correct?” Makoto nods, “However… it may not be quite so simple.”

“Why do you say that?” Ren asks from behind the counter, pouring hot water into a cup through a filter.

“He will know that Makoto lied to him as soon as we reveal that the leader of the Phantom Thieves is in fact alive and I am not guilty of his murder. Therefore, it is not just our lives we are putting at stake,” Goro explains, now leaning over the table with his elbows propping him up, “We should consider the safety and well-being of Sakura-san and Niijima-san as well.”

“What’s your suggestion?” Makoto asks while Ren places their coffees down on the table in front of them, then takes a seat next to Goro.

“Have you disclosed any of our names to Shido? As members of the Phantom Thieves that is.”

Makoto shakes her head, “I told him some Shuujin students were involved but he never asked for details, only the name of our leader. He also knows about you, of course, but I’ve managed to keep everyone else out of this.”

“Then we will take advantage of that,” Goro decides, “Until we steal his heart, we should ask Haru if she could house Boss and your sister.”

Both Ren and Makoto get awkward looks on their faces, knowing that neither will be so easily convinced about this idea. Ren goes first, “I don’t think Boss will ever want to move from here. I spent who knows how long with Niijima in the interrogation room to know she won’t back down so easily either.”

“It doesn’t hurt to try,” Goro shrugs and picks up his coffee, “Oh, and if you haven’t told her already, you should avoid telling your sister about your past indiscretions. She certainly won’t take well to that and will double down on taking care of the issue herself.”

Ren and Makoto share a look, ending with Makoto closing her eyes and sighing, “Well, don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

* * *

To not even Goro’s surprise, neither Sae nor Sojiro agree to the terms, insisting that they’re adults who can take care of themselves, and that the rest of the group shouldn’t be worried. Goro ends up interrupting Makoto just when he’s sure she’s about to reveal her reasoning to Sae, but even with all of the arguments that Goro presents, neither of them budges on the topic.

On the upside, by the end of the day it seems like Futaba’s special calling card is ready, which Goro only learns about when she mentions it to the others. After Niijima leaves, the rest of the Thieves crowd around her laptop, waiting for her to finish up her plan, “Alright, ladies and gentlemen, once I press this button, there won’t be any turning back.”

“Are we not already past the point of no return?” Yusuke asks, “I believe that was why Ren and Goro were at the police station last month.”

Futaba groans loudly, “Don’t ruin this, Inari! Okay?” She exclaims, clicks on a couple of things until all that’s left on the screen is a giant red button, “I may have gotten a little bored while my computer was working and made an actual big red button that’ll send the calling card out so… anyone who isn’t Inari wanna do the honours?”

“What did I-.”

“Oh! Oh! I wanna do it!” Ryuji insists, but Ann grabs his wrist before he clicks the button.

“I think Goro should do it. It’s thanks to him that we’re all here, right guys?” She asks, and each one of them nods, even Ryuji who sighs before he agrees. It’s clear to Goro exactly what she’s trying to do, awkwardly making up for all of the neglect and distrust aimed at him, but at least it’s an improvement from how they were acting before.

From the back, Goro steps forward until he’s leaning over Futaba and the booth, hand right over the button. The group inhales, and silence falls when he presses the button.

The silence only continues, with nothing having changed.

“That was…” Haru begins but doesn’t say what’s on her mind.

“Underwhelming?” Morgana suggests and Futaba rolls her eyes.

“Well duh! Nothing’s happening here buuuut,” she jumps out of her seat, moves past everyone and reaches for the remote. She switches on the TV, flicking through every channel but no matter where she goes, it’s all the same.

“Yo! What is up everybody!”


	36. Anyone's Game

Re-entering the Palace, Crow’s outfit changes back to the white prince garb he usually preferred to wear around the Thieves. Doubt from his mind is completely gone, clear on his only goal and confident in one thought; the only one he should rely on from here on out is himself. What reason has he for following anyone else if they’re just going to lie to him? He’ll play along, since as strong as he is compared to everyone but Joker, he knows that trying to go up against Shido’s cognition on his own would be a suicide mission.

He and the rest of the Thieves sneak through the Palace, jumping out of sight from all the guards and their dogs, until once again they find themselves standing in front of the Chamber of Representatives, and silently follow Joker to the elevator that would lead them inside.

The treasure hovers above them in plain sight, and right bellow it is the despicable Shadow itself, who looks suspiciously calm and normal. He turns around to face all of the Thieves in front of him, “It’s no surprise Niijima’s failed in her objective to rid the Thieves of it’s leader. Still, it’s quite disappointing to see how persistent you are, detective. All the more satisfying, I suppose, to crush you under my own heel and finally rid myself of this nuisance.”

Crow clenches his fist, stepping forward and standing between him and the Phantom Thieves, “It’s true then, isn’t it? That all those years ago, you were the one who tried to destroy your past, and with it, my life. You’re the one who killed my mother, aren’t you?!”

Shido waves his hand nonchalantly, “I would hardly lower myself to that. I had to have her disposed of if I were to ever rise to where I am today. Leaving you alive was a mercy, one that ended up being particularly useful when the Phantom Thieves began to show up and you acted in just the way I hoped you would.”

“I’m nothing more than a pawn to you then,” Crow’s anger forms into an unsettling grin, “This makes my job far easier.”

Shido begins to shake his head, red and black shadows surround him, “If only you hadn’t lost your values and joined the Thieves, I may have thought of you as a worthy asset, but no, you and the Phantom Thieves continue to serve the ignorant masses. Such idiocy cannot stand in the nation I will lead.”

Behind them, faceless politicians suddenly appear with thunderous applause, and all the Thieves save for Crow and Joker look around in shock. Crow keeps his eyes trained on Shido, who’s podium begins to rise, and a stage begins to form above them. Crow is the first to jump onto it, followed by Fox, Joker, Skull, and the rest of the group, right until they reach the top, where Shido’s Shadow is already beginning to transform from the politician they’ve all seen on TV or in real life, to one resembling a dictator.

Crow takes out his lightsabre as Shido approaches a golden lion statue, climbing it as he speaks, “those who do not fall in line are destined to perish. It is only because I have been chosen by the gods to lead this country that I can rise above them, and it is for that reason you will all meet the destiny god intended for you, dead by my hand.”

“Enough of this bullshit,” Skull encompasses Crow’s feelings best when he shouts at the Shadow, “You’re the reason Crow, Queen and Joker have gone through all of the shit that they did! We’re taking you down, like we did all the others!”

Shido turns around, his cape flowing in the air, “Rats like you have no place in my country. Die, without further delay!” The moment he shouts, the golden lion statue begins to move and roars at the Thieves. Its body stands between them and Shido himself, so it’s what Crow chooses to target first, without waiting for Joker’s commands.

He tries to run at the statue, lightsabre held tightly in his hand, but at the last second, Joker stops him by grabbing him by the cape and pulling at it, “Wait!” He yells at Crow, “The statue is just going to reflect your attack back at you, trust me. Use Robin Hood’s or Loki’s magic instead.”

While frustrated from being held back, Crow takes Jokers advice to heart and reaches for his mask instead, sheathing his lightsabre at the same time, “Loki!” He calls out and throws up a physical shield in front of himself for protection.

“Chi You!” Joker calls out as he summons his own persona and goes on the offensive by throwing a severe psy attack at the golden statue. It takes some damage, and Panther and Noir follow up with fire and psy attacks of their own by summoning their personas.

The Beast of Human Sacrifice retaliates through Shido’s commands, swiping at Joker, then at Noir but ultimately missing Crow and Panther. While Panther heals Noir, Joker’s persona having reflected the attack, the other two go on the offensive again while everyone else stays behind, cautiously awaiting further orders from Joker.

“Robin Hood!”

“Sandalphon!”

They shout at the same time, unleashing powerful almighty attacks at their foe. This time when the Beast attacks, each member of the Thieves manages to dodge the attack, but it follows up by enraging Crow.

“Oh no, guys, someone calm Crow down before he attacks that thing!” Oracle calls out from Prometheus.

“Panther, Noir, cover me!” Joker orders, and summons Sandalphon once more to cure Crow before he can attack the Beast, while Panther and Noir unleash their attacks. The Beast roars once again, suddenly sprouting wings and flying up.

“You fools! Know what it means to turn your backs on me, and this country!” The statue flaps its wings at the Thieves, and specifically targets Crow again, trying to burn him in the flames it creates. Robin Hood takes the brunt of it. Shido’s statue doesn’t take a second to rest and targets Panther with an ice attack, who manages to move out of the way just in time.

“Fox, Skull, now!” Joker shouts, and they switch places with the girls, jumping in and summoning their personas, who throw their punches against the flying Beast.

Crow and Joker once again attack in unison, pulling off their masks at the same time and setting their personas on the winged Beast, “Robin Hood!” Crow summons again and the persona shoots arrows at the Beast.

“Ardha!” Joker calls out, and his persona flies out of the way of the arrows, instead punching the Beast and causing it to fall. Before it can hit the ground, it transforms one more time, this time forming a pyramid and completely concealing the Shadow within.

“Sacrifices must be made to form great nations; you are no exception!” Shido calls out from within.

“It’s gonna be a big one! Shield yourselves!” Oracle warns them, and the Thieves get ready for the incoming attack. A wave of energy hits them, and even though they take plenty of damage, they all remain standing. Crow senses that the others may not be able to withstand another attack like that.

Turning his head, Joker sees Fox and Skull barely standing, although Crow’s posture hadn’t changed at all despite taking so much damage throughout the fight, “Mona, Queen!” He calls out to them, and they switch positions with the other two, leaving Joker and Crow still in the fight, “You’re not going to back down even if I ask, are you?”

“Not a chance,” Crow replies and reaches for his mask again, “Loki!” He shouts, and the persona emerges, swinging its sword at the pyramid, trying to slash away at the statue blocking his path to Shido.

“Mona, stay on healing, Queen, go all out! Cybele!” Joker pulls off his mask and heals all of the Phantom Thieves standing with him on the frontlines while Queen follows up Crow’s attack with her own.

The Pyramid once again unleashes the attack, which hits everyone save for Mona, who jumps out of the way just in time. Sensing an opportunity to destroy the Shadow, Joker doesn’t wait for Mona’s healing and jumps back into the fight himself, “Mother Harlot!” He shouts, covering Shido’s side of the stage in ice.

As the ice thaws, the statue begins to fall apart, until it breaks completely and dissolves into familiar black mist. Shido jumps out from the Shadows, his own form now completely changed with the dictator outfit removed. He lands a punch on Skull, who’s sent flying into Crow and they both fall over, grunting in pain. Shido swings again, this time trying to punch Queen, but she quickly removes her mask, and Morrigan takes most of it, “Niijima, you’ve failed me for the last time!” He shouts and prepares to hit her again, but he’s knocked off his feet when Joker’s Zaou-Gongen lands its punch.

The persona disappears in blue flames, but Joker doesn’t wait for Shido to recover, instead allowing the blue flames to take over his mask as his next persona attacks, “Attis!” He shouts and Shido’s shadow becomes engulfed in flames.

Now recovered, Crow joins in the fray, pulling out his lightsabre and running at the Shadow. He slashes at it while Joker keeps summoning his personas, moving out of the way just in time for Joker to throw his attacks, then jumping back in to keep hitting Shido. Just when Crow and Joker don’t think he can take anymore, Crow pulls out his ray gun and points it at the Shadows head. Shido himself is enveloped in black mist, and his regular form is revealed when it dissipates, looking up at Crow.

Crow removes his mask, and while the other Thieves run over, none of them try to stop him, neither verbally nor physically, “Your selfishness destroyed my life, not just my own but countless of other innocent lives. I couldn’t have a childhood because I spent it searching for you, the one behind my mother’s murder. Do not expect me to show any mercy now that I know we’re related by blood.”

Shido shakes his head, “No… whatever punishment you have set out for me, I deserve it. For blackmailing Niijima, for falsely accusing him of his crimes,” Shido says, looking over to Joker, then shifting his glance back to Crow, “And for wronging you. Do what you must.”

“Will you atone for your crimes?” Crow asks him, his voice remaining just as stable and collected as it had been before. Shido only nods in reply, and Crow lifts his ray gun, only to sheath it, “Then our job here is done.”

“Huh?” Mona jumps up, eyes wide, “didn’t you want to get your revenge against him?”

Skull nods, “Honestly, none of us here can blame you for it if you tried.”

“Growing a heart and realising how much suffering you’ve caused, how many deaths you’re responsible for? All the while seeing your dreams crumble before your eyes.” Crow places his mask back on his face, “I couldn’t imagine more fitting torment for him. He should know that death in his circumstance is a mercy.”

The treasure slowly falls from the air above them and the steering wheel, and just as it hovers above Joker’s hands, Shido’s shadow cries out in pain before turning to dust. Crow’s eyes widen, briefly concerned that once again Loki has somehow gone against his wishes, and yet the persona is nowhere to be seen, and his mask is still firmly attached to his face. The Palace begins to shake, far more than any other times Palaces have crumbled from stealing the distorted desires of its owners, “Something must be happening to Shido in the real world!”

Queen agrees and points to the steering wheel, “Grab that, and let’s get out of here before we’re crushed!”

Joker takes hold of the steering wheel and follows the Thieves as they jump off the stage and make a dash for the exit on the other side of the cruiser. As they reach the lobby, they find it slowly sinking into the water, and Joker directs them in a different direction, passing the steering wheel off to Fox, the closest person to him and points ahead, “This way!” He shouts at them all and they all follow as quickly as they can.

They manage to get to a side deck, only to find themselves trapped there with little escape. However, Joker doesn’t stop and keeps running, getting to some near by lifeboats, “We’ll need to lower them!”

“I can-!” Crow begins but Skull gets in his way.

“Let’s do this!” He shouts before making a sprint for it. He leaps off the edge and catches the lever, his body weight enough to bring it down and lower the lifeboat.

The Thieves each get into the lifeboat, Joker stepping in last before he pushes them off. Noir and Queen grab a paddle each and try to swim closer to Skull so he can jump in as well and escape with them safely. In the last second, they reach him, and he drops from the lever. At that moment, a huge explosion causes a giant wave to throw them not just out of the boat, but out of the Metaverse itself.

* * *

Upon re-entering the real world, Goro can’t stop himself from falling right on top of Haru, and just before he tries to get up, Yusuke falls right on top of him, and so it continues with each thief until everyone’s out of the Palace, “So what happened back there?” Goro hears Ryuji asks from somewhere in the pile.

“Can we leave discussions for later?” Ann requests, followed by a very muffled ‘seconded’ from the bottom of the pile, presumably by Ren.

Each thief climbs off the other, followed by countless apologies, until they’re all standing and wiping dirt off their uniforms while looking for any possible signs of injury, but luckily it seems that aside from some bruises, Ren’s glasses were the only victims in the incident.

He removes them as he drops them into a nearby bin, he says, “Rest in peace,” with closed eyes.

“Uh dude?” Ryuji asks, looking from the bin back to him, “They aren’t even real… we can get you another pair tomorrow for like 600 yen.”

“Speaking of money,” Morgana says, jumping onto a nearby ledge to be at eye level with the rest of the Thieves, “Did we get the treasure? What is it?”

Everyone turns to Yusuke, who lifts up a small pin for everyone to see, “I do not think we will be able to obtain much from this… if anything at all,” he furrows his eyebrows, and hands Goro the pin, “I believe it’s fate should be decided by you in any case.”

Moving the pin over in his gloved hand and wondering whether he should just throw it in the bin alongside Ren’s broken glasses, he eventually pockets it, “I will keep it for the time being,” he looks up and notices a guard eyeing their group from the gates leading to the Diet building, “Let’s continue this discussion another time. For now, it may be for the best to disperse.”

* * *

Once they leave the station, Futaba walks ahead with Morgana walking alongside her while Ren and Goro walk slower, “You’ve seen this before, haven’t you?” Goro asks Ren as they walk through the streets, “Perhaps not in this exact way, but I’m certain now that this is not your first time seeing any of this,” Ren remains quiet, hands in his pockets and looking down at his own feet, “It’s a ridiculous theory, impossible even, but all things considered it may not be the craziest thing I have ever seen. You don’t need to confirm it, but I suppose if it’s true then I can understand why you withheld such information from everyone, including myself.”

Without looking up, Ren finally talks, “Considering what we just did and how it ended, you sound like you’re at peace.”

Goro opens his mouth at Ren’s accurate observation, and even though he’s not looking in his direction, Goro smiles, “I have much to process, much to think about and consider where I will go on from here and what to do now that I know the truth… but for now I’m content with living in the moment. One where you’re alive and any charges against me should be dropped fairly soon.”

Ren nods slowly and finally looks up, “So, you’re not angry with me?”

Goro shakes his head, “No, I’m no longer furious with you. Although I’m still holding out hope that some day you will tell me the truth, no matter how long it takes. For now, I’m content in leaving my theory up in the air and let you decide on what to do with it,” the reach the alleyway to Leblanc, and Goro stops, leaving Ren to walk ahead of him, “however it leads me to wonder what it would take for you to relive this part of your life.”

“How much would you be willing to sacrifice to fulfill a promise?”

Ren doesn’t wait for Goro to answer, instead he keeps walking down the street until he walks into Leblanc.

It’s hardly any confirmation, or information, but it brings up so many other things Ren’s passively told him, acting nonchalantly each time Goro questions it.

And rather than put his curiosity at ease, it only makes him worry further.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So, I forgot to say this last chapter but for the previous one, this one and the next one I will not be answering any comments as I'm worried that I may spoil things myself. However that doesn't mean I'm not reading them and squealing each time I get one! (no seriously, after 300 comments and a year of writing I still freak out over every single one)
> 
> Anyway, thank you all for commenting, for the kudos and for staying with me for this long! I am so excited for what's to come and hopefully, so are you guys!


	37. No Matter How Many Times It Takes

At a pivotal time like this it’s no surprise for Goro when he wakes up in the Velvet Room instead of Leblanc’s attic. He slowly approaches the bars and holds onto them, “You’ve summoned me because I’ve uncovered the truth, correct?” He asks Igor.

“Not all of it,” Igor informs him while the twins remain oddly silent, “There is one mystery left for you to uncover, however, ruin quickly approaches. You know who the players of the game are and yet despite them both tricking you, it appears as though you have already chosen.”

Goro shakes his head, “No… I’m certain Ren is hiding something crucial from me, and I cannot make such a decision uninformed. I still have some time left before I have to make my decision, correct?”

“December 24th, to be precise,” Igor tells him, “Are you quite sure that is enough time for you? It’s taken you this long to uncover one mystery, are you certain you’ll be able to solve this one in mere days?”

“If Ren knows the rules, then I have no doubt about it.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

Goro lets go of the bars, “Then I’ll have to trust my own deductive skills and decide based on that. As you’re giving me the time, I refuse to give my answer before then.”

* * *

“What a show we have for you tonight!” The announcer’s voice booms throughout the studio as fans eagerly wait in their seats, already with their phones out to take a picture when he comes on, “Let’s welcome tonight’s guest, Akechi Goro!”

Applause and cheering fills the set as Goro walks on screen, smiling at the camera with a picture perfect smile, and taking the empty seat across from the TV presenters, who show their equally fake smiles, “Thank you for having me,” Goro says once the cheers die down.

“It’s our pleasure to welcome you back,” The female presenter replies, “Now then, everyone here is buzzing in their seats to learn the truth behind your activities. How does someone like you go from beloved detective to wanted criminal and back again? What can you tell us about your great return? And alongside the Phantom Thieves no less!”

Goro chuckles politely, “It is a rather surprising turn of events, isn’t it? This cooperation began when I uncovered who was truly behind the mental shutdown incident. In learning that, I uncovered a plan which saw to eliminating both myself and the leader of the Phantom Thieves, and so, I reached out to him.”

The audience and the TV presenters gasp at the revelation, “Does this mean you know the true identity of the Phantom Thieves?”

Goro nods, “Yes, however, that is information I will be keeping to myself, for their safety. I am currently trying to resolve the matter with the police.”

“I see, I see,” the male TV presenter replies, “The Thieves most recent target has been prime minister candidate, Shido Masayoshi. Whether you are with the Phantom Thieves or not, you must agree that a politician like himself can’t possibly be responsible for what the Thieves are accusing him of.”

Goro furrows his eyebrows, not expecting such an obvious endorsement of a candidate from a show like this. The lack of politics was exactly why he only agreed to come here in the first place, “I believe it’s completely possible. Much of the evidence myself and the SIU have gathered points to him, and it’s not unheard of for a politician to speak of ideas such as unity and go against their beliefs when they aren’t busy campaigning. For now, he remains in the hospital and they have advised against interrogating him, therefore we can do nothing but wait until he himself confesses to his crimes, just as the other victims of the Phantom Thieves have in the past.”

“This morning it’s been reported that he’s requested to do a press conference, many believe it is to further denounce the Thieves as well as many false accusations against him. If he is innocent, would you be supporting him? The two of you were once of the same opinion regarding the Phantom Thieves.”

It wasn’t like the TV presenters ever asked him any quality questions, but the way they spoke of Shido was almost chilling to Goro. They didn’t even care that he may be a murderer, the one they should all be angry at for killing Okumura in the same way they were angry at the Thieves for the same thing. It was anything but natural, yet despite his confusion and anger at the situation, Goro remains calm and collected, instead chuckling in the most fake way he’s ever done, “Unfortunately I’m not of voting age yet, so any endorsement from me would be meaningless. I would rather stay away from speaking of politics, especially when the subject is someone I am currently investigating.”

* * *

After the tiring interview, Goro makes his way to his completely trashed apartment to pick up the few things he actually valued and take them back with him to Leblanc, as both Ren and Sojiro had insisted he do. In the end, he considers the whole day a waste, with the interview providing him with nothing of substance outside of giving him an outlet to explain himself to the public. It didn’t matter too much in the end, with his investigation concluded he had no need for the detective persona anymore. He hopes it's the last ever interview he'll have to do now that Sojiro's happy to have him stay under Leblanc's roof more permanently. He can just claim to be focused on entrance exams from now on until he’s slowly forgotten by the public, while getting a chance at a normal life.

It’s late by the time he gets back to the cafe, carrying only one suitcase worth of clothing and anything else he felt like taking from his apartment that wasn’t broken or torn by the police searching his place, and everyone is already waiting for him. Well, almost everyone.

“Where is Makoto?” Goro asks, the doors behind him closing with a chime. He leaves his suitcase behind by the coat rack and takes a seat in the booth next to Ann.

“Now that it’s all over, she’s decided to confess to her sister about everything,” Morgana explains, sitting on a bar stool close to the TV, “She didn’t think she should be with us celebrating this either.”

“I see... I suppose that's her decision to make in the end now that Shido shouldn't be causing any of us any more trouble,” Goro replies and thanks Sojiro when he places a hot cup of coffee in front of him, while Ren turns around and switches on the TV. Shido can be seen in the middle, holding a microphone in his hand as if waiting to finally make his big announcement. The people behind him cheer on as the vote count scrolls past on the lower third, showing Shido as the clear winner. The Thieves all watch his press release in silence, except for Ren who sits in the booth right behind Goro and scrolls through his phone. Goro looks down at his phone and catches him refreshing the Phan-site, but then turns back to the screen while Shido confesses to his crimes and the politicians around him start running around frantically, scrambling to cut the feed.

Finally, the feed cuts out in a similar manner from the last time one of the Thieves targets confessed on live TV, and they all look away from it, “We did it!” Ann cheers and lifts up her glass of coke, “Let’s make a toast to our biggest heist yet.”

They all raise their glasses, including Sojiro, and join in cheering for their success. Out of the corner of his eye, Goro sees Haru and Futaba comforting each other while tears streak down their eyes. He after setting his coffee down, he whispers to them while Sojiro’s busy giving his speech, “It’s over now, he’ll be going to jail for a really long time.”

Ren gets out of his seat and puts his phone in his pocket, interrupting Sojiro's speech, “I’m not so sure about that. Everyone on the Phan-site seems to think he’s innocent.”

“The hell?” Ryuji exclaims, “Didn’t they just hear what he said! ‘Sides, you’ve got all the evidence against him, don’tcha?” His question gets everyone to look at Goro, who nods.

“What I’ve been able to collect along with Makoto’s own evidence should be enough to prosecute him, especially if Niijima-san takes the lead on this,” He agrees, “But… this isn’t the first I’ve heard of this behaviour. During my interview the presenters were trying to get me to endorse the very person I’m investigating,” he puts a hand to his chin in thought, “Something isn’t right here.”

Yusuke shakes his head, “And after all the trouble we went through, is it possible that Shido would go free? Even he seems to believe he deserves to be imprisoned.”

Futaba nods, “Yeah! Plus, there’s tons of stuff you can dig up on him and everyone in the conspiracy. Once you got names, it’s super easy to find stuff on the net!”

“And yet the public thinks he is innocent…” Haru looks down at the drink in front of her, “Is there something wrong with the public’s perception of him?”

“Like, in Mementos?” Morgana asks, “I’m not sure. Honestly, it’s not something I’ve ever dealt with before. Usually with evidence stacked against someone, the public would believe that the person in question is guilty, especially if he admits to it… this is a first.”

Sojiro steps in, “I’d say you kids should give it a few days. For all we know, it’s just a few hardcore followers, and anyone else is just in denial about electing someone who so obviously rigged the system in his favour,” he begins to collect the empty plates and glasses from everyone.

“And if they aren’t?” Goro asks, “If it’s not the people, but something else… then I suppose checking to see if Mementos is influencing them in any way would be the best way to go about it.”

Ren steps in once again, “We promised Morgana to search the depths of Mementos, and if there’s a chance it’s connected to all of this, we’ll be killing two birds with one stone. We’ll go in 5 days.”

“December 24th?” Goro asks and drinks some more of his coffee, “Very well, is anyone against this?” No one shakes heir head or speaks out against the plan, “Then lets all keep our heads low until then- yes, including myself,” he says when he notices Ryuji about to protest that, “If the public truly believes that Shido is innocent, there is no telling that they’ll think of the Phantom Thieves in the same manner.”

Yusuke looks down at the ground, shaking his head, “You’re insinuating that they’ll believe we planted the evidence, forced him into a false confession, correct?”

Goro nods, “it’s the obvious explanation for why they are acting like this. Up until now they thought we were all murderers. It’s a cognition we’ll have to overcome, one we must be prepared to face in the Metaverse. I’ve no doubt that what lies in the depths of Mementos will be out most challenging fight yet.”

* * *

Shortly after finishing up the food and drink the Thieves got for what turned out to be a disappointing celebration of their biggest heist, the Thieves disperse, and even Goro and Ren opt for a change of pace by leaving the cramped attic and going to Inokashira Park in the winter evening, though neither of them particularly go out of their way with hiding their identity anymore.

The reach the bridge in silence, and while Goro leans against the railing with his elbows, Ren turns around with his back against it, “You seemed to be quite particular about that date,” Goro says, “Is there anything I should know about before we go back to the Metaverse?”

“You were passed out when I told the others that I’d tell them everything the day after,” Ren informs him, “But you already have your own theories regarding what I'm going to tell them.”

“Are any of them true?” Goro asks, turning his head to his boyfriend.

Ren looks down at the ground, closes his eyes and sighs, “It’s not the whole truth. You asked me to be honest with you, so I will. But it’s a long story, and I need you to hear it all before you judge me for any of it, including why I hid what I did, alright?”

Goro nods slowly, “If you’re going to finally tell me the truth, the least I can do is listen to all of it before I pass judgement.”

Ren opens his eyes and puts his hands in his pockets, “I have seen these events play out before, not in the same way as they have this time, but changing the cognitions of Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro, Futaba, Okumura, Niijima and Shido is a constant. The victims of those people, or of their trauma, almost always become Phantom Thieves, and we always end up in the depths of Mementos on December 24th.”

“Always?” Goro asks when Ren pauses, “Then this isn’t the first time you’ve done this?”

Ren shakes his head, “It was only supposed to be once… but I kept messing up, and each time I got a chance to go fix things, they kept on messing up further, but no matter what, no matter how many years it took, I refused to give up.”

“Years? How long have you been doing this?” Goro moves away from the barrier and stands in front of Ren, “You made a promise to someone, didn’t you? Was it me?”

“' _I’ll keep going back, as many times as it takes until we’re all alive in a world that isn’t dictated by selfish politicians or malevolent Gods_ ',” Ren says as if he were reciting something, “It’s that promise that has driven me to repeat this cycle over 600 times, but no matter how many times I go back to April 8th of this year, I can’t save you. Every single time, you die before we get to the depths of Mementos.”

“I… die?” Goro asks, trying to look Ren in the eye but the other making it almost impossible by looking down at his bunched-up fists, his hair covering his expression.

“Where I’m originally from, Makoto was never the Black Mask. Instead, it was you who was seeking revenge against the person who wronged you,” Ren tells him, then finally looks up, “In my timeline, you die in the engine room, by the hand of the puppet of the man who destroyed your life. You were the only one I could never save, so of course I was never going to let that go, even if it has taken me 600 years to get to where I am now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly shorter chapter today, but I promise that the next one should make up for it ;)


	38. The Trickster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Probably to be expected, but there's a lot of character death in this chapter/mentions of blood etc.

_“Change Shido’s heart… in my stead… end his crimes…! Please…!”_

* * *

_It’s those final words that always come back to haunt Ren’s nightmares. He never admits it to the Thieves, and even Morgana is apparently oblivious to this. The ship, the engine room, the sound of two gunshots going off, it’s what keeps him awake at night throughout his time in juvie, and even later once he’s back in Leblanc. He doesn’t want to go back there, not when he knows that no matter what he does, Goro Akechi will remain forever behind the bulkhead door._

_It’s why he thinks the smile on his face is forced when he goes around Shibuya to say goodbye to everyone on his last day in the city, because no matter how many times he comes back to Leblanc, no matter how many times he checks the little pastry shop in the station or watches that program he used to be on, the detective is nowhere to be found, seemingly forgotten by all._

_Morgana, for the first time since the cat’s made it’s reappearance, dashes off to find the other former Phantom Thieves waiting for him in the square while Ren makes his last trip around central street. It’s only when he says goodbye to his final confidant and leaves Untouchables that he notices the glowing cell doors to the Velvet Room, with Lavenza standing by it, Compendium in hand._

_Curious as to how the door could still possibly be there with Mementos gone, he walks over to the girl, “Lavenza? How are you-?”_

_The cell door suddenly opens, the little girl turns around and looks back at Ren, “If you will… my Master would like to speak with you.”_

_There’s no reason to doubt the little girl now, she helped him, and the others save the world from the Malevolent God after all, and so he’s compelled to follow her inside._

_The Velvet Room is the same as always, although now that the real Igor was back, the cell doors are open and Ren finds himself surrounded by blue flames until he’s looking like Joker again… but that’s not quite right, he shouldn’t be looking like this, not anymore._

_“I understand you may be confused by this, so allow me to explain,” Igor begins calmly while Lavenza walks to his side, “I regret that I could only reveal myself to you once the Malevolent God had taken over your world, only to ask you to defeat him. You did so without hesitation, and even though it resulted in your imprisonment, you still accepted your fate. For that, I thank you.”_

_Hearing Igor’s real voice praising him isn’t something Joker’s incredibly used to, but nevertheless he accepts it, “That’s not the only reason you had me come in here, right? You already told me as much when I was in juvie. What’s different now?”_

_“Allowing the Malevolent God to trick you is not my only regret,” Igor admits, “I’ve been observing you all this time, and I believe we both agree that this game was unjust, one where not just one, but two Wildcards were destined for ruin,” Igor sighs deeply, “And yet, you both managed to avoid that, to an extent, even if for one of you it was only in death. As repentance for allowing the Malevolent God to interfere, I would like to ratify this, with your help.”_

_Ratify his mistake…? Was it even possible for him to bring Akechi back from the dead?_

_No, he’s dead, and Ren should’ve made peace with that already._

_And yet…_

_“What do you need me to do?”_

_Having stayed respectfully quiet until now, it’s Lavenza’s turn to speak, “It is impossible to bring a person back from the Sea of Souls. As the world is right now, we cannot return him. However, there is a way for you to do it. It is extremely dangerous, and it is why my Master needed this time to consider even offering such an option.”_

_“I’ll do it,” Joker says impulsively but Igor stops him by holding his hand up to quiet him. It doesn’t work when Joker figures out what method Lavenza is referring to, “Time travel, right? If I could go back in time and stop Akechi from killing-.”_

_“It is not that simple,” Lavenza insists, “As long as you return here, to this very moment after having defeated the Malevolent God, you may try to change history as many times as you can, but unfortunately we are only able to send you back as far as you have had access to the Metaverse, April 9 th, I believe, the day the MetaNav appeared on your phone.”_

_Then it was impossible to stop Akechi from ever contacting Shido in the first place… but that was fine. The detective would have to reform and repent, but at least Joker could save him from certain death, “When you say I can go back as many times as I want…” he trails off, unsure of how to ask the question on his mind without it coming off as narcissistic._

_Lavenza seems to read his mind and shakes her head, “It is only your mind that will be going back in time. You will have all of your memories, all of the skills and all of the personas that you have collected at your disposal as soon as you awaken to Arsene once again. The God may or may not be aware of this, but he is likely to dismiss it and believe that his plan will succeed no matter what you may know.”_

_“I’m certain you are familiar with such a concept, and understand what other consequences changing the timeline may have,” Igor says, “Even with the possibility that you may have to relive the same year over and over again, are you still willing to take up this offer?”_

_There’s no doubt in Joker’s mind, after all, he knows what he had to do to save his other friends already, saving one more shouldn’t be that difficult, “Yes. I’ll save Akechi Akechi. No matter how long it takes me.”_

* * *

_When Lavenza said they could take him back as far as April 9 th, Ren didn’t know it was the actual time they’d take him to. He expected to be taken somewhere far more relevant to Akechi, such as Shido’s Palace, Niijima’s Place or even as far back as the day they met in the TV station._

_He knows it’s pointless to try and meet Akechi beforehand since it seems to have so little to do with what ends up happening in the engine room, and Ren’s sure that all he needs to do is just make sure Akechi isn’t left on the other side of the bulkhead door._

_Nevertheless, when they do meet, Ren ends up going above and beyond what he originally planned on doing, ‘accidentally’ running into Akechi outside of his favourite bakery, finding him cycling around the park, inviting him to Leblanc instead of waiting for the detective to find it on his own._

_He learns more and more about the detective like this than he ever did in the previous timeline. He finds out that while Goro has no particular favourite food, he does enjoy going out for sushi, and his food blog is mostly something he posts on as a hobby or conversation topic rather than as an actual interest in food._

_When they go to Dome Town together, he learns that the detective isn’t so fond of rollercoasters, as they make him queasy, so they end up going on the Ferris Wheel instead and share some pancakes later that day._

_He enjoys mystery novels, though usually he ends up guessing the culprit before they are revealed and is often left disappointed when he guesses correctly. It results in Ren taking him to book town where he ends up using some extra money he saved up from his part time jobs to buy him some new detective novels._

_They bond more than they did before, they grow closer, and Ren isn’t sure when exactly they crossed the line from friends to something more, but he doesn’t find the change unwelcome, even if he has a gnawing feeling Goro’s only in this to use him._

_The feeling goes away when they’re together, when Goro tells him about what happened to his mother and how he’s only become a detective to avenge her, in a sense. He knows it’s not the whole truth, and he doesn’t expect him to reveal everything to Ren all at once._

_It’s why finding out that Goro had in fact gone and shot his cognitive double in the interrogation room hurt so much more in this timeline._

_It doesn’t stop him from trying to save Goro this time around._

_It doesn’t stop him from fighting Goro down in the engine room while the other drives himself crazy trying to kill him._

_It doesn’t stop him from trying to run in before the bulkhead door rises._

_It doesn’t stop him from watching the cognitive double shoot Goro before Ren can react, with Goro too weak from the fight to hold out and Ren not reacting fast enough on his own._

_There’s little he remembers after that. He’s certain he defeated the Shadows; how else would he be able to carry Goro’s body out from the Metaverse and into the real world?_

_It’s then that he promises not to give up. One misstep wasn’t going to slow him down._

* * *

_He tries to live out his life just as he did in the first timeline, keeping his head low and making sure not to change too much. Without a clear understanding of the rules, he doesn’t know how to help the people he wasn’t sent to save. He doesn’t want to risk stepping on a butterfly and having the entire city blow up a few weeks later just because of that._

_Despite that, he still somehow manages to save Shiho from her terrible fate. He does as much by slipping a flyer to a café that sold crepes in Shibuya into Ann’s bag, the same café she showed him the previous year, and it has the desired effect when Ann manages to convince her friend to go with her after school. She doesn’t even hear from Kamoshida that day, given that Ren’s stolen her phone. To make sure he wouldn’t go after any of the other girls, Ren ended up sneaking into the PE faculty office just to slip some laxatives into his coffee._

_It has he desired effect, and yet the next day Ann still ends up joining the Phantom Thieves._

_After that, Kamoshida starts suspecting Ryuji and him of slipping the laxative in. At least Mishima isn’t involved this time, but they still end up with a deadline to changing his heart. They still succeed in time, with almost no changes to the Palace itself and Ren explaining his fighting skills away with beginners’ luck._

_He doesn’t expect many changes after that, but he finds himself pleasantly surprised when Sae Niijima walks into the cafe with the detective behind her._

_Ren’s caught off guard when Goro asks if they’ve met before, making him worry that maybe his powers as a wildcard allowed him to know of Ren’s circumstances, though Goro himself ends up dismissing the idea._

_After that chance encounter, for a while, things seem to play out in the same way as before. Yusuke joins their team, Madarame tells them about the mysterious individual with a black mask, they steal his heart, and a few weeks later Goro overhears Morgana mentioning pancakes at the TV station._

_Ren’s sure it’s fine, after all, the only thing he had to do was make sure the bulkhead door wouldn’t separate them in the future, but it’s far too early for them to investigate Shido’s Palace now. He’ll have to play along until then._

_Goro ends up coming to the café far earlier than Ren had anticipated, and even offers to teach him how to play chess. It’s an odd experience, one which finally gives Ren a real chance to talk with the detective beyond brief conversations in Leblanc just before the detective left or those times where they’d only speak due to circumstance._

_It continues for a while, even after Kaneshiro’s Palace and multiple incidents involving mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns, Goro keeps coming back to the café to discuss the Thieves with Ren over coffee and chess._

_Occasionally, the subject matter changes when there’s little left to mention about the Phantom Thieves, but it’s always a pleasant conversation, albeit never a personal one._

_Ren ends up helping him out with a case involving Yusuke, but he doesn’t see him again for a few months after that, possibly too swamped by both of his after-school jobs._

_He manages to remember when most of the incidents happen and makes sure not to go to Mementos then, too afraid that meeting him as the Black Mask too soon may end up in some horrifying consequences, so he does just that._

_It’s only after both Kobayakawa and Okumura die that Goro starts showing up to the café again, and even after blackmailing the Thieves into working with them, even after they’ve proved that he’s planning on killing Ren by installing Futaba’s recording device on his phone, the detective still comes by to play chess, and ends up helping Ren out with Futaba’s uncle._

_They bond far more than the first time he saw all of this play out, giving Ren some hope that maybe the detective won’t pull that trigger on November 20 th._

_When the time comes, the police storm Niijima’s Palace and take him back to the police station, and with the headlines appearing about his suicide a few days later, Ren’s presumed to think that Goro really did want to kill him in the end, and it’s only confirmed when Futaba replays his phone call with Shido post attempted double homicide to the rest of the group._

_They infiltrate Shido’s Palace and it all goes according to plan, mostly, except this time Crow stands at the stairs and blocks their path. Joker hates to watch him do this, believing that deep down if Crow was given a real chance at a normal life then maybe he’d have taken a different path._

_Instead here he is, listening to Crow tell him about the horrible things he’s done and why he’s done them while the Phantom Thieves react to the news, but even Joker knows not to fake his surprise. The detective would realise something was up immediately if he tried to deceive him._

_The second Crow pulls off his mask and summons Robin Hood, Joker is on him, calling forth his persona while the others deal with the Shadows behind him. By now, he’s certain he’s just as experienced as Crow is, as such, fighting him comes far easier and even Crow seems stumped by Joker’s inexplicable surge in power._

_“Give up, Crow!” Joker shouts, trying to sound more aggressive than pleading, but there’s a part of him that already knows better than to expect Crow to back down when he hasn’t even used half of his power, “We’re after the same thing! Just join us, it’s not too late to-.”_

_“Too late?!” Crow shouts at him, holding onto his gut after a particularly hard hit from Sandalphon, “Even after I shoot you in the face, after I corner you and try to kill you here, you still show me pity?! When will you understand, Joker, I don’t need you to pity me,” he knows what’s coming when the other reaches for his mask, “All I need is for you to die. So just do that for me already! Loki!” He rips off the mask and the familiar black and blue prison outfit replaces the white detective prince costume Crow previously adorned, soon followed by a blast of red and black lights, the sign that he’s driven himself psychotic._

_It’s this moment when Joker finally realises how real all of this was, how in less than ten minutes, Goro may be dead and forgotten behind a bulkhead door if Joker doesn’t play his cards right. It makes him hesitant during the following fight, stopping himself from hitting Crow too hard, but it only serves to piss him off more as he lunges at the Thief._

_By now, the other Thieves were left to watch as Joker fights Crow one on one. It’s far different than the previous fight, but now that he’s on even ground with him, Joker can take the hits he doesn’t dodge in time without too much consequence, and it’s only when he summons Arsene, now far more powerful than in the previous timelines, that he manages to end the fight against Crow and Loki._

_This time, Joker doesn’t make the mistake of standing too far back with the rest of hs team close by, and instead, when Crow is kneeling and panting from the lost battle, Joker moves a couple of steps forward and reaches his hand out to his rival, “Will you help us now?” He asks, tone far gentler than when he asked the similar question mid-fight._

_Crow looks up at him with disbelieving eyes, then looks down, shakes his head and chuckles, “You’re really offering to team up with me? How stupid can you be? Aren’t you afraid I’ll just stab you in the back as soon as I recover?”_

_Joker shakes his head, and his hand still remains extended, “I told you already, we’re after the same thing, aren’t we? I trust that you understand that now. So, do we have a deal?”_

_Crow takes his hand and stand back up, “I suppose I have little choice in the ma-.”_

_The sound of a bullet sounds throughout the engine room, followed by a scream from Panther when Crow falls into Joker’s arms. The latter catches him just in time and sees the bullet wound in his back. He doesn’t need to look up to know exactly who it’s from, and instead focuses on Crow, “Mona, Queen, heal him now!”_

_Mona summons Zorro and tries using healing abilities while Queen tries to revive him, but the detective remains slumped over Joker’s arms, breathing heavily with no changes._

_“Th-they can’t!” Oracle shakes her head, observing Crow through her goggles, “You… that fight didn’t leave him with health or energy…!”_

_In the back, Joker can hear Queen taking charge and leading an attack against cognitive Goro and his minions, though he blocks it out entirely, instead kneeling down to help Crow out in whatever way he can. He presses on his wound, but it doesn’t seem to do anything as blood continues to pour out from it. His hands shake as he panics, holding Crow close while he tries to figure out what to do._

_“R-ren… Please… It’s no use…” Crow whispers weakly as his body slumps in Joker’s arms, “Y-your friends… they’re losing. They aren’t strong enough to handle this fight,” Crow informs him, made to watch the fight from his perspective, “They… don’t deserve to die in my place.”_

_Joker shakes his head as best as he can with Crow so close to him, and his grip on the other tightens. He pulls off the visor when he hears the other struggling to breath and holds onto him tightly, “I can’t let you die… not again…”_

_“A-again….?”_

_“I… I’ve seen this before, it was different that time and I spent the last year thinking of how I could change this very moment, so please, don’t die on me now…!” Joker begs him, and Crow let’s out a small chuckle, one followed up with a cough._

_“In another life I might’ve doubted you, but someone as special as you… I suppose this explains your power. If that is the case, and you really can travel back in time… then I need you to make me a promise, will you do that much?”_

_Joker shakes his head again, “No, no, no, I can’t! I won’t change his heart. Not without you, not again!”_

_Crow reaches down into his pocket and pulls out the chess piece Joker gave him after their last match, and holds it between their chests, “I don’t need to tell you to do that… I… my life is meaningless at the cost of others. So please… If you’re stubborn enough to change fate, and I know you are… don’t lose your way and become so driven like me… don’t let anyone else die for my sake…” his voice becomes quieter and quieter, and what little grip he had is almost gone._

_Joker takes a hold of the hand between them, still keeping a firm hand on his back, “I… I promise. I’ll keep going back, as many times as it takes until we’re all alive in a world that isn’t dictated by selfish politicians or malevolent Gods.”_

_“I’m… glad we could finally come to an agreement… Ren.”_

* * *

_The rest of the timeline is a blur, as he only recalls getting terrified looks from his teammates as he rips the shadows apart in the engine room with Metatron’s power and almost takes Shido down by himself a few days later._

_It’s another setback, restarting his life for a third time, but Ren wants to think positively, wants to keep hoping that he can and will make a change. Changing Shiho’s fate did little to the actual outcome, so he wonders if meeting the detective early on to befriend and convince him to join the Thieves at the first opportunity he has would change things in his favour._

_He ends up doing just that, finding the detective early on and ‘accidentally’ bumping into him in the café Goro had tweeted about ten minutes before, playing oblivious to just how much he knew about the detective. They exchange numbers, and after that, Goro has to go home._

_But he doesn’t do what he told Ren he was doing, and instead, Ren ends up following him, accidentally getting pulled into Mementos when Goro fulfils one of Shido’s orders._

_It’s too early for Ren to interact with him there, with no persona and barely a relationship with the detective, he leaves the place as soon as he knows the other Wildcard won’t hear him._

_It’s the first time that Ren learns just how fragile the circumstances are, and that even forcing an early meeting has extreme consequences._

_Akechi Goro is reported missing shortly after their chance encounter._

_A couple of months later a body is found, a boy aged 17 in the same school uniform Goro wore, beaten to death._

_The Phantom Thieves move on like never before. Shido finds someone else to do his dirty work. Joker still shoots God in the face._

_But Akechi Goro remains dead, suffering a fate possibly worse than the one before, and Ren can’t live with himself knowing that whatever he did must’ve affected the change._

_He goes back another time given the opportunity._

* * *

_The next time, Ren doesn’t do anything that may involve Goro unless absolutely necessary. When he sees him in Leblanc, he actively ignores the detective unless he’s certain that he interacted with him the first time._

_He still lets Goro carry out his plan, convinces Sae to help him and sits back in the real interrogation room while his cognition is shot._

_Two weeks later, he finds himself asking Sae to keep Goro at the courthouse while they’re in the Palace. He can’t die if he’s not there to get shot by his cognitive self, right?_

_It’s how the Thieves end up fighting that very cognition in the engine room, one backed by multiple shadows._

_It’s a brutal fight, one that nearly kills half of his team when he doesn’t take it seriously enough, but eventually the Thieves succeed and leave the dreadful Palace. Ren’s happy to see Goro on a live interview that evening, now certain that even if the detective wouldn’t join them, then at least he’d live to see another day._

_The Thieves send out the flashiest of their calling cards to Shido, which is exactly why Ren expects to see Crow in the Palace this time. They could still fight him, and with his powerful personas from his last two years to back him up, he’s confident he can carry them all through both Crow’s fight and Shido’s Shadow with the use of his more powerful persona’s._

_When they enter the Palace, even the Thieves are surprised to find that the detective isn’t there waiting for them._

_Morgana claims its luck, and the Thieves agree, but with one timeline already drastically changed due to one small mistake, Ren isn’t sure he can fully believe its coincidence, and he’s a little distracted when they go to fight the Shadow._

_The conversation plays out a little differently, but Ren doesn’t pay it too much attention. Goro didn’t die in the Palace and the Thieves don’t know that he’s related to the politician, so why bring him up at all?_

_They fight, they win, and the Palace begins to crumble before Ren even picks up the treasure, just like last time._

_Goro isn’t even there waiting for them outside of the Diet Building._

_Ryuji says Goro’s too scared to face them all at the same time._

_Ren knows better._

_A couple of days later, the boy gets restless and looks up Goro’s address himself. It’s not so hard to find, given how obsessive some of his fans were. He convinces Morgana to stay with Futaba for the evening, saying how it shouldn’t be too dangerous for him to go out alone with Shido’s heart changed and Akechi presumably in hiding._

_Morgana reluctantly agrees, and it gives Ren the opportunity to go check up on the detective on his own._

_It’s late when he finds the apartment block and walks over to the door. He knows that actually asking him to be let into the apartment was suicide but hearing Goro answer the intercom would be confirmation enough that he was alright. Ren would just have to run away after that and hope the detective doesn’t check on Leblanc until after Shido confesses._

_He’s got no such luck when he rings for Goro’s apartment. It keeps ringing, and Ren finally gives up and steps away. He pulls out his phone and goes to social media, checking for any updates from the detective. His food blog was active today, apparently, and it gives Ren a little hope until he remembers that Goro most likely just had things queued in the event he was too busy to post._

_Paranoia takes over and he rings the doorbell again, but no one answers._

_He’s got a few lockpicks on him, and there’s no one around… But even he isn’t sure if his skills from the Metaverse translate to real life._

_There’s a security camera, but he realises the difficulty of convicting someone who’s supposed to be dead and with his hood up and glasses on it’s difficult to make out his face anyway, so he pulls out a lockpick and works on the front door._

_After a couple of tries, it works, and he pushes past, walking up a couple of flights of stairs until he’s sure he’s on the right floor._

_He turns his head left and right as he searches for the right house number, and it’s only at the end of the corridor that he reaches the right number. He pulls out another lockpick and grabs onto the handle to steady himself as he crouches down, but in doing so he pushes the door open._

_Akechi Goro is absolutely not the kind of person who would forget to lock his door when he goes out, that much Ren is sure about, and it immediately sets off alarms in his head. Swallowing down the spit that had gathered in his mouth and pressing a hand to his stomach to quell the nauseous feeling he was already getting, he pushes the door further and steps into the room._

_It’s dark, and he can’t make anything out, so he pats around the walls for a light switch._

_He expects to find a gun pointed at his face when he switches the light on._

_Instead its Goro’s corpse lying on the floor, face down in a pool of his own blood that spread and dried across his carpet, his usual pristine clothes torn and bloody. His hair, while matted around his fringe from the blood, managed to cover most of his face, and Ren, now on the verge of throwing up, was grateful for that much._

_He runs out of the apartment, leaving the door open for whatever unfortunate soul happened to be Goro’s neighbour so they would find his body and report it to the police. He can’t be the one to do it. He’s not even supposed to be alive, let alone inside the apartment._

* * *

_The last year held some horrifying and gruesome images, ones Ren would never get out of his head, but it only pushed him to repeat the year a fifth time, a sixth time, a seventh time…_

_There never seems to be a right solution._

_Akechi Goro’s fate was to die._

_Ren even tried to go through Palaces on his own, acting as a solo thief, only to end up in the real interrogation room with the real Goro, prepared to talk him down or die trying. It was only his 304 th try after all._

_Somewhere along the way he made sure to have Futaba teach him some hacking skills, and he uses those to take down ‘Medjed’ and to later send out Shido’s calling card._

_It’s lonely, the path he chose this time, not even allowing himself to befriend Morgana._

_At least it seemed like Ann, Shiho and Ryuji were all friends, Haru and Makoto finding some kinship as well, Futaba deciding to go to school once her heart was changed and Yusuke’s life improving upon accepting a different mentorship. If they could all be happy with such drastic changes and only a little push from Ren from within the metaverse, maybe Goro’s fate could change too._

_Instead, on November 20 th he watches as the real guard fights back and ends up shooting Goro in the chest, right in front of Ren._

_It gives Ren a chance to escape, telling the guard to say to his boss that Ren himself managed to smuggle in a gun in, killed Goro with it and committed suicide._

_Fifty years and tries later he manages to convince Goro to join the team full time. It works, until the ship begins to sink and Goro, in place of Ryuji, runs to lower the boat. He doesn’t understand how it’s possible for one boy to make it out completely unharmed while the other is severely burned in the explosion that throws his body out of the Palace._

_He doesn’t even make it to the hospital that year, and Ren is forced to repeat the vicious cycle once again._

* * *

_The situation only gets worse, when about 550 years in, his friends begin to suffer from the consequences of his actions as well._

_One year, Makoto is kidnapped by Kaneshiro’s mob and she’s never heard from again._

_Another year, Morgana gets run over by a car after leaving the Thieves over Okumura’s palace._

_A different year, it’s Ann who jumps off the school roof, and Shiho becomes a Phantom Thief after her best friend dies._

_There are never any changes regarding the detective._

_Akechi Goro still dies before they even reach the depths of Mementos._

* * *

_It’s the 605 th year when Ren enters the Velvet Room at the end of his stay in Tokyo and finds someone else sitting in Igor’s chair. He’s failed again, and he barely remembers what went wrong this time, after such a long time the years just mix together._

_He doesn’t even remember his life before April 9 th._

_He’s still certain that he took down Yaldabaoth, so the appearance of anyone but the real Igor in the Velvet Room has him on edge. Even Lavenza seems to be missing, and there’s no sign of anyone else in the prison cells either._

_“You’re not Igor… but you can’t be Yaldaboth either,” Joker voices his thoughts, “So, who are you?”_

_At first, Joker thinks he another persona user, with the white mask covering almost his entire face, wearing a black turtleneck and black pants, and long hair pulled into a tight ponytail, but he’s certain that if he’d been through the timeline so many times, he would’ve seen him before._

_“My name is Philemon, Trickster, and I am here to offer you a solution to your problem.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So as promised, from now on I will be answering comments again! I've been reading every single one for now, and hopefully if this hasn't answered most of your questions, future chapters will!


	39. Miracles and Magic

_“Solution? What? Just like the one Igor gave me?” Ren scoffs, folding his arms, “after 650 years I’m starting to think he sent me on a wild goose chase. Am I just entertainment for you?”_

_Philemon shakes his head, and when Ren starts paying closer attention, he notices a dark figure hiding around the shadows. It’s unnerving, but Ren doesn’t let his fear show,“By now you should know that going back in time will not change the fact that Akechi Goro’s fate is to die… in these circumstances," Philemon replies ominously._

_“Circumstances?”_

_Philemon nods, “This game you play, it is to determine whether humanity can evolve beyond their true nature, or whether they are doomed to chaos. You as the Trickster represent one side, Akechi Goro and the conspiracy the other. This game was unfortunately rigged from the beginning, hence why you are doomed to repeating the same events over and over again. Akechi Goro could never be saved, his fate cannot be changed.”_

_Ren shakes his head, smirking at cruel fate as leans against the wall of his cell, “So I was right. I am just entertainment to you. Tell me then, you’re here because you got bored of watching me fuck up so many times, right?”_

_Philemon shakes his head again, and despite Ren’s constant antagonising, his posture doesn’t seem to change in the slightest, “We are at an impasse. As long as Akechi Goro keeps dying and you keep on going back in time, we cannot progress. We have a suggestion.”_

_“We?”_

_“We,” Philemon confirms, and Ren can only guess that he’s talking about himself and the being lurking in the shadows, “While I do not wish to interfere with the progress of humanity, it appears as though in this case, it cannot be avoided. In this instance alone, I am willing to accept your world being altered to create a new world of sorts, one where Akechi Goro remains impartial to the game. In this world, you will remain as the Trickster… of course, someone else will have to bear the burden of Yaldabaoth’s pawn to maintain the balance.”_

_“Someone from the Phantom Thieves?” Ren guesses._

_“Someone with the potential, yes,” Philemon replies, “Akechi Goro will be the Observer, as through your acts he has been so tied into this fate it is almost impossible for us not to involve him. It will be up to him to decide whether he will walk the path of destruction or salvation.”_

_He understands the catch in all of this, if Goro isn’t the Black Mask it’ll mean someone else’s life will end up getting messed up by Shido… but if he plays his cards right, then no one will have to die. He’ll make sure the new Black Mask stays safe too, even if it means spending the rest of his life helping them redeem their actions. It’s better than dying, at least, “Is there anything else I need to know?”_

_"It is your last chance to alter reality. If Akechi Goro chooses damnation or if he dies, the game will be over and you will have lost everything,” Philemon explains, “Of course, if you all live and he chooses the path of salvation, that too will be the end of the game. Whatever history you create from there cannot be altered. Whoever’s fate you have changed will remain unaltered, and you will be responsible for it. Are you willing to accept these conditions?”_

_Ren leans away from the wall, looks at the dark figure and then back at Philemon, “I knew the game was rigged since the first time I failed. How will I know it’s not rigged now? How will I know you’re not just sending me on another mission doomed to fail?”_

_“That is a risk you will have to take.”_

_Ren doesn’t even know why he’s bothering to ask the question at all. If there’s even a slight possibility, a better chance that Goro would live through this time, it’s a risk he’ll have to take, “I’ll do it. I’ll win this game.”_

_He’s almost certain he sees the dark figure in the back grinning as he falls asleep once more inside his cell._

* * *

_When he reopens his eyes, he’s not standing in the alleyway leading him to Untouchables, but instead, he’s once again on the train taking him to Shibuya. He unlocks his phone and looks at the date. April 9th. He glances around the train, the same one he always takes each time he starts this game, and sees two girls watching a video on their phone. It’s Goro, that much Ren can tell, but there’s no way of knowing what he’s saying with all of the commotion of the train drowning out the phone. He seems to still be famous then, mostly likely for the same reasons as before, Ren assumes, just without making up cases for himself. Hopefully his life hadn’t changed so drastically that Ren can’t predict where he’d go._

_He’d gotten so used to stalking the guy he might as well be invisible to him if Ren wanted it, but if he’s too different from the Goro he knows, that skill may have lost all it’s worth. He’ll need to get Goro on his side sooner or later, and even if he’s changed that should make keeping an eye on him easier._

_Finding out who the Black Mask is may be more troubling. He’ll have to at least wait till he has Arsene and access to the Velvet Room again._

_He tries to do his research as quickly as possible about the rest of the team, and from an outside perspective, nothing seems to have changed. Ryuji is still off the track team for punching Kamoshida in the face, Ann is still a model and getting blackmailed by Kamoshida, Yusuke is still under Madarame’s care, Makoto is still the student council president, Futaba is still locked in her room in the Sakura household, Haru is still following her fathers wishes and Goro still seems to be the Detective Prince._

_The first thing Ren does while sitting in Kawakami’s class after leaving a Palace for the first time is make a list of all of the victims he remembers Goro giving a mental shutdown or psychotic breakdown to. If everything is the same save for the identity of the Black Mask, then Shido should still be the one controlling them and telling them to kill and harm the same people._

_His first opportunity was the day he moved, and the second the day after, both taking place at the train station but without a persona and with Sojiro keeping a close eye on him, there’s no way he could’ve done anything about it. Next, June 1 st, a wild duck burger employee gets fired for taking nude selfies; he’s heard it countless times on the train to school in the previous timelines, and Ren’s sure it’s the result of a psychotic break. Before then, Black Mask had definitely checked up on Madarame but there’s no way to tell when that took place, or if Goro was even there when the Thieves were. He’ll have to wait to find out who the Black Mask is then, or try to do some investigating of his own._

_Till then, he can at least try and save some people, knowing what should and shouldn’t have an impact on this final timeline._

_Shiho is first, and Ren’s already saved her so many times he knows her fate doesn’t change the outcome; Ann still gets pissed off at Kamoshida enough to awaken to her Persona and help the three of them steal Kamoshida’s treasure, only to continue as a Phantom Thief alongside him, Ryuji and Morgana._

_Black Mask’s victims were far trickier. Kobayakwa’s and Okumura’s death both lead to Goro being able to shoot Ren in that interrogation room and claim victory over the Thieves. This Black Mask might try to do the same, and Ren’s certain if he tries to save them, Shido might just end up killing his hitman for incompetency; he did it before when Goro was his assassin in one timeline, why would his feelings change at all in that regard?_

_As much as he hated it, Kobayakawa and Okumura would have to die at the hands of the Black Mask, it’s the only way Ren knows to keep his friends alive past Shido’s Palace._

_The same went for the SIU director, Ren’s sure, and even if he did somehow manage to save all of them, Shido would probably use his other connections to have them all killed._

_The list ends up being much shorter than Ren had hoped, but it’s better than nothing. Changing too much in the timeline would mess up his own sense of what is supposed to happen when anyway._

_With this being his last try, there’s too much at stake to act too recklessly._

* * *

_"Jack-o’-Lantern!” Joker shouts as he summons his persona and burns all of the Slimes surrounding them. As they disappear into a heap, the others cheer for him over their victory against the Shadows._

_“Dude you wiped out that slimey thing in an instant!” Skull says in a super excited way as they pick up the treasure around them._

_“Totally! I wish I had that kind of power… hey Mona, do you think maybe we’ll be able to actually collect Persona’s like Joker does?” Panther asks the cat, busy healing everyone with his own persona after the battle._

_Mona hums in thought, “I don’t think so… this guy’s powers are pretty unique. I’ve never come across anything like it before.”_

_“Oh, come on, then you gotta know how you got these extra powers, right?” Skull asks._

_Of course, he does, but there’s no way he can just tell them outright without getting into a long explanation and revealing far too much, “There was some long-nosed man…” he trails off._

_“The hell are you talking about?” Skull asks him, but he quickly drops it, by now probably used to some of Joker’s stranger answers, “Well whatever, I guess even I wouldn’t be able ta describe how I can use a persona to fight Shadows in… what was this placed called again?”_

_“Ugh! You never listen, do you, Skull?” Mona says in a very frustrated voice, “We’re in Mementos, it’s the collective unconscious of the public, how much more do I have to explain?”_

_“Uh… literally all of it?” Skull replies._

_“It is simply a way of saying how each individual views themselves in society as well as how all of society perceives itself. It’s quite a simple concept to wrap your head around, Skull,” A voice belonging to none of them says, but Joker already knows who it is. It’s early, far too early for him to be here if he’s not the Black Mask, but it’s definitely Crow._

_It’s his mistake, Joker thinks, to consider this timeline as anything similar to the one he’s done over and over again. Crow showing up here hits him with just how risky all of this was. He can't expect it all to be the same, as Philemon himself said, Goro was far too tied into the game to not take part in it, even if the rules had changed._

_One misstep is enough, and this time, he can’t go back and fix things again._

* * *

Standing on the bridge over the river and leaning his elbows against it's cold, metal railing, Ren looks down into the water at his own reflection, “Not even Morgana knows about this, I’ve been able to sneak away from him a bunch of times just to check up on you. The others don’t either, though I’m sure Makoto might suspect something. Still, I don’t want them to find out… at least, not until after we deal with Mementos.”

He looks over to Goro, who has his fists clenched but otherwise he can’t read his expression at all, “I was a murderer in the other timeline, all because of my own vendetta against Shido? And yet, you were counting on me being the same person in this world as I was in yours.”

Ren shakes his head, “Not the same, but similar. I had no reason to trust anything that Philemon said but I was desperate, and it felt like any chance at saving you was worth it. I was still keeping that promise; I wasn’t going to let anyone else die and I’m still not going to.”

“And you think that makes this okay?” Goro asks him, his tone of voice getting more aggressive, “You think toying with the lives of others was worth it just to save mine?”

“It’s not like that-.”

“Really?” Goro asks, “Tell me then, did the Makoto you know kill someone by accident? Was she and her sister threatened by Shido, less she be his hitman?”

Ren shakes his head, “Of course not, but she’s alive, isn’t she?!” He shouts back at Goro, only to drop his volume back down, “And so are you, so is the rest of the team, and Sojiro, and Shiho and so many others I’ve seen die at least once before.”

“…you should have left me for dead.”

“What?”

“It’s true,” Goro turns around, “I didn’t have anyone then, no friends, no family, no one who would care if one day I were to disappear. My life wasn’t worth anything to anyone, it had no worth at all. If anyone had to die or had to lead that kind of life, it should have been me, not Makoto,” Goro begins walking out of the park, and Ren runs ahead of him to face him.

“You know I couldn’t just leave you for dead like that.”

Goro keeps walking at a fast pace, but Ren tries to keep up with him by taking a two, three steps at a time, “Don’t get me wrong, I admire your persistence, but your saviour complex is going to be the end of you. You cannot save everyone, Ren, no matter how hard you try, and that is what worries me,” Goro says as he begins walking in the direction of the exit, “I won’t tell the others, you have my word on that. For now, all we should be focusing on is getting to the depths of Mementos.”

“And after that?” Ren asks him, no longer trying to catch up.

“I’m not quite sure,” Goro stops in his tracks, “Despite all of this, I am grateful to be alive, but I need time to process all of this and figure out what I need to do next now that Shido is gone. As for my decision… I believe it hardly makes a difference now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ren asks him.

Goro shakes his head, “Did you really think an all powerful god would give you everything you wanted because you were being an inconvenience? If he didn't have ulterior motives, neither of us would be here talking like this right now. Whatever they’re planning, I don’t think any of us, you, me, Makoto, the Phantom Thieves, ever made a difference to them.”

* * *

It’s no surprise to Goro when that night he wakes up in the Velvet Room once more, but what’s more unnerving is how there is no one to greet him once he’s there. As soon as he walks over to the cell doors, they open up, and in a flash of blue flames, the prison garb he always wears changes to the white prince outfit. He takes a few steps forward, being cautious and suspicious of the situation, but when no one stops him, he keeps moving and starts searching the other cells.

In the one on his right, he finds Ren in a similar prison outfit to his, sleeping on the uncomfortable bed while his hands and legs are shackled to a ball. On his left is Makoto, looking just like Ren as she sleeps in her own prison garb and shackles.

“Are you satisfied with the truth?” Goro hears an unfamiliar voice ask behind him, and when he turns around, the man Ren had described to him, Philemon, appears in the middle of the room, “It has set you free of the lies and deception you’ve lived in for so long, and yet you do not appear to have a clear answer.”

Goro shakes his head, “It’s not about being undecided when it comes to the fate of humanity. I know what the right answer should be, however… I don’t trust any of you to make good on your deals. What I do trust is that Ren will stop at nothing to save everyone, and I can't allow him to continue that reckless pattern any longer.”

“You’d put the lives of all of humanity at risk for the sake of one man?”

“I know Ren would,” Goro tells the man, “I can only hope to be as stubborn as he is when my time comes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhh... so despite having written and rewritten the last chapter like 5 times and it being one of the first chapters I wrote for this series, I made a small mistake, specifically, about when the game begins, as I realised it's April 9th, not April 8th. I've changed it in the previous chapter and for this one too.
> 
> But hey, 500+ kudos!!! Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments and the kudos, not long now!!!


	40. I'm Not Afraid of Anything Anymore

The next day is slow, both for Goro and the café itself. Ren had left in the morning without explanation, leaving Goro to come up with his own entertainment for the day. There was still sometime before their planned trip to Mementos. Going outside was just going to anger him with how supportive everyone still was of Shido, so he chooses to help out Sojiro in the café instead by washing the dishes left in the sink.

Only an old couple shows up, one that doesn’t seem to recognise him thankfully, and Sojiro serves them himself, but only after the four hours it takes them to drink their one cup of coffee and leave does Sojiro comment on the unexpected help he received from him, “Don’t take it the wrong way, kid, I’m grateful for the help with the other guy leaving in the early morning, but don’t you of all people have better things to do?”

Goro dries up the cup he had just washed and places it back into the cupboard where he’d seen Ren and Sojiro put it away countless times before when he was simply just another patron, “Yes and no. There are matters I have to resolve, but it’s not something I’d like to think about right now. I was perhaps too hopeful in believing that working would take my mind off it all, it seemed to have the opposite effect with how quiet everything was today.”

“This about Shido?” Sojiro asks, which in the past would’ve sounded like a question meant to get Goro to spill gossip of any kind. He knows better now, knows that Sojiro only asks these types of questions when he’s genuinely concerned, “It can’t be easy on you right now, but even if the public doesn’t think he’s guilty, he’ll face justice sooner or later. That’s what you wanted, right?”

Goro nods, doing his best to maintain eye contact with Sojiro but he constantly finds looking into the distance instead, “As ridiculous as it may sound, while the fate of that man is on my mind, Shido is the least of my concerns right now,” Goro says distantly and sits down at the end of the bar, closest to the TV. Finally, as if snapping out of his daze, Goro looks at Sojiro properly, who’s now started on a fresh cup of coffee. There’s no one around, and Goro notices Sojiro pulling out the beans for his favourite blend, “Oh I don’t-.”

“It’s on the house, Goro. You could probably do with some of this too,” he explains as he makes the blend for him, “Am I going to have to drag it out of you too or are you going to tell me what’s on your mind?”

Goro chuckles, “Are you that concerned about me?”

Sojiro looks up, closes his eyes and sighs, an annoyed look forming on his face, “Well I guess I am, huh? Didn’t ever think you and Ren would grow this much on me, but here we are,” he opens his eyes again, “Don’t think that’s enough to distract me from how you dodged the question.”

He didn’t expect Sojiro to be quite as easy to distract as Futaba might’ve been, and not that he counted on his question to work anyway, “For the past year I’ve been expected to make the right choice about a matter, and I believe I’ve come to the correct conclusion… and yet I’m doubting myself, doubting if it is indeed the right choice, how badly might it impact those around me…” Goro trails off, “Though I suppose… there is one more person with whom I must speak in order to be certain.”

“But you’re putting it off?” Sojiro guesses correctly, pouring the hot water over the filter and into the cup. With little else to add, Goro nods, “Well, you’re smart, you probably know that procrastinating it is only going to make it worse. So, what’s holding you back from having the conversation?”

“It’s quite childish perhaps…” Goro trails off, his eyes now focused on watching the water pour into the cup, “But the person I have in mind and I don’t get along too well. I worry that my view of them may influence my decision on that, even though their personality has very little to do with the situation.”

Sojiro chuckles and shakes his head, “I didn’t think you and Makoto got along too well from how you react around each other. But you’re a detective. You’ve had to look at your cases objectively for the past year, and if you think distancing yourself from your decision is the only way to make it, you really think you won’t be capable of that?” Sojiro asks and places the cup in front of him, then shrugs, “Eh, what do I know anyway?”

Goro shakes his head and smiles, “No… you’ve helped me plenty, thank you,” he lifts up the cup to his lips, gently blows and drinks in the hot liquid. It’s sweeter than usual, not quite as acidic as the standard blend he’s used to drinking, and exactly the kind of blend he’s always loved but couldn’t always afford to splash on. He swallows and breathes out a sigh, “Thank you, boss, this is quite delicious.”

“Best way I could repay you for today’s work,” Sojiro replies as he begins to untie his apron. He hangs it up in the kitchenette, and walks out from behind the bar to the coatrack where his hat hung, “I’d appreciate it if you washed up after that and locked up the café, but if you’re not up to it then just tell Ren to do it for you,” he puts his hat on and opens the door with a chime, “Speak of the devil.”

The comment gets Goro’s attention as he turns to the door and finds Ren waiting on the other side. He passes Sojiro, who walks out of the café and in the direction of his home. Ren sets his bag on the chair closest to the door and puts his hands in his pockets, “I got us everything we need for Mementos. Medicine, weapons…” Ren trails off, “So… what’s your plan?”

Getting off of his stool, Goro undoes the apron around his waist and hangs it up where Sojiro put his, “I have no specific plan if that is what you’re asking. I was honest when I said we should focus on Mementos, and with your experience I gather that we’ll be prepared by the time we go there. So, for now, all I can do is wait. As for what I’ll be doing in the meantime… I’m going to see Makoto and her sister once I finish my coffee. I won’t sell you out, but I’m sure you already know that the very least you owe her is an explanation.”

* * *

Despite Goro’s stern words, Ren ends up staying in Leblanc while Goro makes his way to the Niijima’s. The less than ideal relationship he has with Makoto is one thing that worries him, the other is finally talking to Sae now that she knows the truth. There’s no doubt she’s already realised that Goro already knew about Makoto and didn’t tell her about it, how else would he have been able to come up with the plan in the interrogation room?

Part of him hopes she’s somehow working late, but it’s unlikely given how she’s no longer pursuing the Phantom Thieves case, at least not as seriously and intensely as before, and Shido’s shouldn’t be anywhere near as difficult as that one.

He gently knocks on the door when he reaches their apartment before clearing his throat, “Niijima…? It’s Akechi. I apologise for the intrusion, but may we speak?”

It only takes a few seconds for Makoto to open the door and move out of his way to let him inside, “You know, you can drop the uptight detective act now. From what I heard you’re planning on backing out of it all together anyway.”

He steps inside and follows Makoto into her kitchen. Well, if Sae is here, she clearly isn’t interested in talking to him. Might be for the best for now anyway, “Yes, that rumour is true, but I’ve used the detective persona for so long it will take me some time to rid myself of it completely,” in the meantime, Makoto’s already putting the kettle on to make them both tea, getting out just two cups, “How is Sae-san?”

“Stressed,” Makoto replies as she opens the cupboard with various kinds of tea, “Any preference?”

“Green tea is fine, thank you,” Goro replies and takes a seat at their kitchen table, “That’s understandable. How is she taking the news of you being Shido’s assassin?”

With her back turned to him, it’s difficult for Goro to tell how she’s really feeling, but with all that they’ve been through he trusts her to at least be honest in that regard, “She’s doing what she can to put Shido behind bars and keep me away. My testimony will eventually be key to the case, but she’s going to make a case for me being under duress. Regardless of what the public thinks, Shido’s had a change of heart so he’ll likely admit to wrongdoing in that instance.”

“So, we can count on you to go into the depths of Mementos with us?”

Makoto turns around, her eyebrow arched in how sure Goro sounded about the plan, “I thought it was all hypothetical, an idea Ren had as a backup if the people’s cognition of Shido doesn’t change, no? You make it sound like an inevitability.”

“Ah, do I?” Goro feigns mild surprise, “That was not my intention, however, I believe sooner or later we may up there regardless considering the promise we all made to Morgana,” it’s not the best excuse he’s come up with, and even Makoto seems to think there’s more to it judging by her expression, but she drops it as soon as the water in the kettle boils and she begins pouring it into the cups.

Then again, if this is a different world then the one Ren's used to, who knows if they'll even have to go there at all?

“Yes, if I am able to, then I will be going down to the depths with you,” she answers his earlier question, “Why do you ask?”

“Truthfully?” Goro asks rhetorically, “To make conversation before moving onto the main reason for my sudden appearance in your apartment. In all honesty, I came here to discuss a slightly different topic. You once wanted me to join you and work against Shido. I take that’s what you were speaking of back in July, correct?”

Makoto brings over the hot cups of tea, sets them on the table before taking a seat opposite the detective. She nods once, “My goal was always to take Shido down, and I was hoping that maybe you could help me in that. Once I realised you wouldn’t help me, I thought you’d try to stop me… so I tried to kill you as well.”

“I was no longer useful to you,” Goro concludes and Makoto once again replies with a nod. Under the table, Goro crosses his legs while leaning forwards, putting his elbows up on the table and joining his fingers, “But that isn’t the only reason you did that, correct? You had an ulterior motive to get me on your side, but you knew I was already siding with the Phantom Thieves… siding with Ren to be more specific. What is it that Igor offered you in exchange for getting me on your side?”

“A chance to get back at the people who killed my father two years ago with the use of the metaverse,” she repeats what she told him back when they left the interrogation room. She picks up her cup of tea and blows on it gently, “But he also said that if I can lead the observer along the path of rehabilitation, then I could even change the world, salvage it from ruin.”

“Rehabilitation…?” Goro trails off, his own beliefs now put into question. He came here to confirm one thing, and yet, if Makoto’s telling the truth, then following Ren would only lead him towards ruin… which all things considered, knowing his involvement with the past made sense. Ren may have once wanted to change the world for the better, but through his actions it’s only stagnated, while Makoto herself was acting on the belief that she could not only save her sister, but others who may suffer as a result of Shido’s government. While an extreme measure, even killing him made more sense for the path of rehabilitation rather than ruin. With his death, Ren would be forced to move on.

Why would Goro even consider for a second that picking Makoto would’ve resulted in ruin?

And wouldn't it all mean that the game was once again rigged against him and Ren?

“I see,” he replies calmly, leaning back in his seat, “Before you ask, I’ll tell you what I told Ren; I still need some time to come to a decision, and this has put a light on certain aspects of the game… as long as you aren’t lying to me right now.”

She takes a small sip of her hot tea, and when she pulls it away, she shrugs, “I have no reason to lie to you now, and so far all I have done is push you away, so my chances of winning the game are quite low. I’ve told you nothing but the truth today, if you’re willing to believe that.”

“We’ll see,” he tells her and picks up his tea.

The silence that befalls them is quickly broken when the turning of keys in the lock informs them of Sae’s return from the courthouse. It’s clear from the moment she steps through the door that she’s exhausted, and it’s not something Goro can blame her for, between helping them take down Shido, the lingering Phantom Thieves case, a new boss and finding out what her sisters been up to these past two years.

“Akechi?” Sae asks when she notices the detective at the table, “I didn’t know you would be stopping by. Although it is probably for the best that you’re here. I have some news regarding Shido’s case.”

“Hmm?” Goro hums, intrigued.

“I’ve done the best I could, but my current boss has requested I drop the case against Shido,” she informs them both, “At this rate, Shido and his associates will walk free.”

“What?” Makoto and Goro both get out of their seats, “That’s impossible!” Makoto exclaims.

Goro shakes his head, “Is there really nothing either of us can do? Makoto and I both have the evidence required to prosecute hi-... hmm,” he pauses as he thinks the situation over. Ren must’ve been so certain about the depths because he knew the public wouldn’t change their opinion of the Thieves or Shido even if new evidence came to light, even if the timeline isn't quite the same, its just another constant, “It really is possible then that the cognition of the public is truly being manipulated by a higher power…” Goro concludes and sits back down in his chair, “I’ll talk to Ren, but I suggest we all gather in Leblanc tomorrow to further discuss this turn of events.”

Sae puts her bag down on the couch, takes off her shoes and joins them both at the dinning table, “I apologise… I feel as if I have failed you both, another adult demanding you to change a world that's only thrown it's worst at you.”

Makoto shakes her head and puts her hand over her sisters in a reassuring manner, “No sis. This is personal for all of us. We started changing people’s hearts, and we’re going to see to it that the world goes back to normal again.”

Normal…

Goro only wishes that were the case.

It makes sense to him, now, finally, why everything seems to conclude on December 24th. The day they go into the depths of Mementos. The day he’s supposed to make his decision clear.

He can only hope he’s come to the right conclusion.

* * *

_There is something I need to know._

_One can hide their true identity, control the shadows and manipulate them to their hearts content._

_The other has infinite possibilities, switching masks and adapting to each situation as required._

_What then, is my place in all of this? Has it always been to drive people psychotic?_

_…_

_I sense you have ulterior motives. Do you wish to alter reality?_

_You too can change the world, if you so desire._

_Breaking the chains holding one back is not the only power held within you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I've started an internship and I have a lot of work at home to do so for the next two/three weeks I might not be updating.


	41. I Am Thou

_I’d like to ask you a question._

_I suppose no matter what I say, you’re going to ask that question regardless._

_You have a power, one different from mine or any of the others, correct?_

_What of it?_

_Do you think it would be possible to replicate such a power? Or perhaps use it in a different way than you have before?_

_..._

_Let me guess, you don’t want me to tell the others about this, right?_

_Of course not, the exercise would be completely meaningless otherwise. However, I promise that it is for the best, and it is the only way to get us all out of this._

_…Very well, let’s see what we can do._

* * *

At the top floor of Mementos, the Phantom Thieves prepare for their final mission, each readying their weapon and checking the supplies provided to them by Joker. Joker himself stands by the cell doors leading to the Velvet Room, caught up in whatever he was doing that neither Crow nor any of the other Phantom Thieves could see. Crow takes the initiative to encourage everyone with their leader busy for the time being by stepping in front of everyone and addressing them, “This will most likely be the toughest challenge for the Phantom Thieves yet. We do not know what to expect down below, but if it is anything like we have faced before, then I’ve no doubt we will emerge victorious… but for that, we must remain together, understood?”

“Right,” Queen nods and walks ahead of everyone, “What are we waiting for, then? We’re all ready to go, right?”

Finally finishing his business up in the Velvet Room, Joker returns to the rest of the thieves and looks over to Mona, “Right. Let’s go,” he announces unenthusiastically, but regardless Mona takes that as a cue to switch into his bus form and drives down to the lowest floor of Mementos they’ve been able to reach thus far.

On the way there, almost no Shadows attack them, as if they’re all holding back on the Thieves instead of chasing after them. Even as Joker almost drives into a Shadow carelessly, the enemy quickly runs out of the way and doesn’t engage. Joker himself barely seems to acknowledge the Shadows, and only mutters an apology any time he drives over a harsh bump in the road or makes a sharp turn. In the back seat, Queen lifts her hand up and opens her mouth, presumably to suggest she drive, but Crow takes her hand and lowers it, “We’re almost there,” they’re only about halfway there at that point, but Queen nods when she understands why he’s saying that.

The rest of the ride is completely silent, though at each end of a floor, more and more cognitions start to show up, walking in the same direction as the Thieves were driving. It only gets really crowded once they reach the final door, far more grandiose than any of the other entrances they’ve seen before.

“Those people…” Panther thinks out loud once she leaves the Mona-bus, looking up at the moving figures around her, “The trains are all stopping here, but they keep going. Are they after the same thing as we are?”

Crow shakes his head, looking up at the figures, “Unlikely. If they are the cognitions or Shadows of the public, then it is more likely that they will oppose what we are trying to do here. We should be cautious of the Shadows we meet moving forwards. I doubt they will be as… accommodating as those above us.”

Joker, Skull and Mona walk ahead to the doors while the others stay back to observe their surroundings. As soon as the Thieves get to the doors, they slowly open up, and Oracle, the most intrigued of them all, runs ahead of them, “Woah! Huh… that’s weird.”

“What is it?” Noir asks.

Oracle points beyond the doors, then over to the cognitions walking in its direction, “Well… these doors can only be opened from the outside. Meaning once you go in, there’s no turning back. But all these people are still going in.”

Fox, himself intrigued, looks to the cognitions then back through the doors, “Perhaps they are unaware, and are drawn to something in the depths themselves?” He suggests but Crow quickly dismisses the idea.

“Mementos is the Palace of the public, a Palace created by the real-life versions of the cognitions we’re seeing walk inside,” he offers as an explanation, but Mona elaborates on it further.

“The people are choosing getting locked away over their freedom,” he walks past Oracle and heads for the depths first, “Come on, we don’t have time to just dawdle. Let’s go!” he says with little enthusiasm, rather uncharacteristically to the point that Crows pretty sure he hears Panther and Noir discussing it on their way down, staying at the back of the group while the others charge ahead.

“I’ve never seen him quite this… well I suppose he’s been determined before,” Noir struggles to come up with the right words, “Solemn perhaps?”

Panther agrees, nodding along, “Yeah, totally. He’s been acting pretty weird since we decided to go to Mementos… but he has been trying to get us all the way down here since we met him,” she argues, and that’s when Crow, till now eavesdropping, decides to join in.

“As someone who only uncovered the truth about themselves and their past recently, I sympathise,” Crow admits quietly, “He’s certain that he’ll uncover the truth about his identity once we reach the depths, it’s understandable that he’d take this more seriously than any of our other missions.”

The two girls hum, partially agreeing while still wondering if that’s the whole reason behind it. Agree to disagree is Crow’s mindset while he tries to catch up with the rest of the group as they explore the Mementos Depths.

* * *

As soon as they get to the bottom of the stairs, more Shadows begin to appear, but rather than fighting them, Joker opts to sneak around, at least until he reaches a row of cells down in the depths containing all of the Phantom Thieves targets, and more. Though Panther and Fox are quick to call out Kamoshida’s and Madarame’s presence, Crow and Queen find Shido and examine him before commenting on the matter themselves, “They’re only Shadows, they aren’t real,” Queen tells them, though Shido seems to counter it.

“While we are Shadows, what is happening here isn’t as far from reality as you may think,” he says from behind bars, and Crow scoffs.

“What, then? Do you truly wish for your mind to be imprisoned like this? You don’t expect me to believe you feel quite that guilty, even with a change of heart?” Crow asks, though he doesn’t expect much of a reply.

However, this Shido, one filled far more with guilt than the prideful version of him on the dreaded cruiser, indulges him, “this is where we all belong. You’re deluding yourselves if you think you’re above any of us. In the end, all that we and the public want is to be free from the burden of thought and consequence. Do you not think such a world is ideal?”

“It would stagnate,” Queen interrupts, “Were that truly the case. You made so many of us suffer, but wasn’t your main goal to have the country progress? Even in your own twisted way, it’s better than succumbing to… whatever this is.”

Shido shakes his head and chuckles, “You fools… you clearly do not understand. This… this is true freedom. Those who ran away chasing some twisted desires had forgotten this feeling of bliss, of letting go and letting a higher power decide for you. If you continue down this path, you’ll meet nothing but ruin.”

“We’ll take our chances,” Skull replies from the back, and walks past the cells, “C’mon guys, talking to these assholes is only gonna piss us off. They ain’t even the real ones.”

The rest of the Phantom Thieves make their way past the cells, all but three; Oracle, who doesn’t seem to move at all, and Crow and Fox, who both look at her with a concerned expression, “Are you not coming with us?” Fox asks her.

Oracle nods slowly, “Y-yeah… I just… hmm…” she hums and looks around at the shadows, “If it weren’t for all of you, I probably would’ve been in one of these cells too, right? Or… maybe worse…” she trails off, mostly muttering but both of them catch that.

“We’re here together, Futaba,” Crow reassures her, “And we’ll fix everything, together. There is no need to think of what would have happened now.”

* * *

“Halt!” A shadow with wings shouts at the rest of the group once they run past all of the cells containing the Phantom Thieves’ targets. Joker immediately stops and pulls out his knife, “Crow, Fox, Mona, with me,” he shouts and without question the rest of the Thieves follow their lead.

“Loki!” Crow calls for his Persona as he removes his red mask. The trickster god appears above him, waving his sword around before attempting to cover the pagan saviour with flames. While they certainly affect the Shadows, they stay standing, defending against the oncoming attacks.

“Mercurius!” Mona shouts next, and the wind seems to knock the Shadows down, allowing Mona to lead them all in an all-out attack. However, even with these Shadows down, more appear, and behind them, bigger hoards seem to be making their way over.

“Joker!” Oracle calls out to him, “There’s way too many Shadows! We’re not gonna be able to take them all at once!” She warns him, but instead of back out, Joker steps between his team and the Shadows, then removes his mask.

“I’ll take them all down in one go. Pillage them, Satanael!” Joker shouts and his mask bursts into blue flames, with the demonic persona appearing right behind him. With one almighty attack, the Shadows blocking their path are completely eradicated, not even a shred of cloth left behind as they vanish into black mist.

“Let’s go. We’ve got no time to lose,” Joker says and moves forwards, and the rest of his team silently follow his lead as they continue to make their way further and further down into the Depths.

* * *

_"This is the deciding moment, you know that, yes?" Justine asks the trickster when he finishes summoning the personas he needed for the coming battle ahead of him._

_"There's no turning back now. Think you convinced him enough?" Caroline teases, but instead of indulging either of them, Joker shrugs._

_He trusts Goro to make the right call._

_Too bad he doesn't know what that call is._

* * *

The further down they go, the more aggressive the Shadows appear to get, barely giving the group a chance to rest between each battle. However, with Jokers trump card in the form of Satanael, none of them feel particularly threatened, counting on Joker to save them if necessary, without even questioning why he had such a power in the first place.

He did promise to tell them all after this mess was cleared up anyway, and even Skull knows that now is the worst time for any kind of chit-chat. Especially once they reach a long-winded path that Mona believes leads them down into the lowest parts of the labyrinth.

“Thought this would never end,” Skull admits, as tired as all the others were of the puzzles and mind games along the way, required to get them there. Even if it was mostly Joker, Crow and Queen solving them in the first place, “But that should be the last of it, right?”

“There’s nothing further down than that,” Oracle informs him as holographic screens surround her, “That’s probably the final boss then. We should make sure we’re all ready to go.”

“Joker?” Crow nudges their leader when he doesn’t immediately respond, “we’re leaving the decision to you. Shall we go investigate what’s down there?” He asks, and with some hesitation, Joker nods.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

* * *

Having relived this fight, albeit without Crow by his side, is a blur for Joker. It’s always the same, the crowds booing them as they attack the Holy Grail, the Grail becoming more golden the more they attack it, the Grail receiving the health and the support of the masses, Skull offering to cut down the vines connecting the Grail to the masses, and eventually, the Grail itself flashing white as it fuses the real world and Mementos together and sends the rest of the Thieves out from the depths and into the streets of Shibuya.

The public barely seems to pay attention as each thief falls to the ground in pain, confused by what had happened below, and what was going to become of them now that each part of their bodies was turning to dust.

Even as his friends slowly disappear, it’s Goro who remains the calmest as the rest of the Thieves, just as always, disappear into dust like the Shadows they had defeated did before them. When all but two remain, Ren looks over to him and reaches his hand out, “You’re... not afraid.”

“Neither... are y-you,” Goro replies as he clutches his stomach, no longer able to pretend like the pain wasn’t there, “If you… w-were worried that s-s-something bad was happening to me… you would’ve s-stopped this… a-at least, ha-,” he grits his teeth, clenches his eyes and grabs onto Ren’s hand, “-at least that’s one thing I can be certain of.”

Goro’s hold on Ren’s hand disappears, along with the rest of his body as he too disappears in the eyes of the public, and Ren is left alone, turning on his back, closing his eyes and smiling.

“I won’t let him win… not this time.”

* * *

What Ren expects to wake up to is the same thing as before; Igor, or rather Yaldabaoth, sentencing him to an execution, the twins fusing and him rejecting the malevolent god’s offer before freeing his friends and the rest of humanity from his clutches.

He should’ve known better.

This was a different game after all.

This time around, it’s different. No Igor, no Yaldabaoth, no twins and no executions. Just him, still locked behind his cell door while across the room, Makoto sleeps soundly in hers, with the sound of footsteps marching up to his cell, the clicks of heels ringing out in the otherwise silent Velvet Room approaching.

“You’re awake,” Goro points out as he walks over to Ren’s cell. He’s not in the same filthy prison garb he and Makoto are wearing, but instead seems to be wearing some sort of suit. Or two halves of two different suits, one half resembling his Robin Hood persona, while the other is covered in black and blue stripes, just like his old Black Mask costume that he would don in all of the previous timelines, “Surprised?”

“Goro…? What happened?”

Goro turns away from the cell, and it’s only then that Ren notices the two figures standing where Igor’s desk would normally, having appeared out of thin air, “We can discuss that another time. Right now, I believe those two want an answer from me. Do you not?”

Philemon nods slowly, “This world is slowly falling into ruin. You can choose to either free the trickster or the avenger. One will put the world back on the path of rehabilitation. The other will cause the world to stagnate and fall into ruin. I’m sure you already know who is responsible for which.”

Goro grips onto the bars of the cell door behind him. Ren, unsure of what to make of this, walks over and put his hand over Goro’s, “I’ve had a feeling for some time now, yes. Although in the end, it never really mattered who I choose. The outcome will always be the same.”

“How so?” Philemon asks.

“We will still remain your playthings, pawns in some twisted game,” Goro explains, “I’ve come to my decision. I refuse to play your game any longer,” he announces and lets one hand go of the bars, “I choose neither.”

Philemon barely looks surprised by any of this, but it takes him some time to formulate a sentence at all, “Neither? Do you truly believe the game cannot continue without you making a decision?”

This time, Goro moves the hand behind his back enough to go through the bars and hold onto Ren’s hand, “I’m certain you’ll think of a solution sooner or later, if you do not have one yet. I can’t represent humanity, not in a game so flawed, where this twisted cycle is doomed to repeat itself over and over again.”

No. He can't just not choose. Philemon had told him that Goro's choice wouldn't even matter if he died. Simply refusing to go along with the rules isn't going to stop them from completing their game. they'd just do it without him.

“Goro…” Ren repeats again, squeezing his hand tightly, “I fucked up… I know, and I’m sorry you have this burden… but we can’t change things anymore, we can’t-.”

Turning his head enough to let Ren see the smirk on his face, Goro reaches for the mask that’s appeared on his face in a flash of blue flames, that of the costume he wore when Ren first discovered his powers in this timeline, “I refuse to live in a world dictated by malevolent gods.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh I'm sorry for the long wait! I got an internship sorta last minute which I didn't expect to have, then family came over so I had to deal with that each day after work, but now things have slowed down enough that I actually wrote most of this chapter while at work. I honestly don't know how often I'll have a chance to update from now on, either I'll already have the next chapter ready tomorrow or in two weeks.


	42. Thou Art I

“Persona!”

Goro’s mask disappears in a flash of blue flames and is instead replaced by the persona levitating above him, one Ren’s definitely never seen before. Its skin is similar to that of Loki’s with black and white stripes, but it’s certainly not him anymore. Now wearing a white dress and the ends of its hair becoming blue and not red, when Goro takes his hand back from Ren and points it at Philemon and the figure behind him, the persona sends out a large flashy nuclear attack in their direction.

Ren knows it won’t be enough to even scratch the other two if they’re even more powerful than Yaldabaoth, but that doesn’t seem to be Goro’s only plan. Instead, while the other two figures are recovering from the sudden attack, Goro grabs Ren’s hand again and summons his persona once more, “Don’t let go of my hand,” Goro warns him and looks to his persona, “We’re getting out of here.”

All it takes is the blink of his eye, and suddenly, the two of them are no longer in the Velvet Room, surrounded by gods that wish them harm, but instead Ren finds himself standing in Leblanc. Though he knows something is off when he looks down and sees the familiar red gloves on his hands. Goro looks through the door of the café, turns the sign to ‘closed’, and pops his head back in, “I guessed Sojiro would be alarmed by what is happening outside. It’s a good thing he’s left the café, otherwise this would be more difficult to explain than it already is.”

“Yeah, about that-,” Ren grabs onto one of the bar chairs when his head begins to spin, “What the hell did happen? And what was that Persona?”

Goro notices his wobbling posture, and helps Ren sit in one of the booths, “You of all people should be familiar with time-travel. Although travelling to the future is not something you’ve experienced before, as far as I’m aware.”

"Time travel?" Ren looks up at Goro, who chooses to stand by the bar instead of sitting down next to or opposite his boyfriend, "Only Igor was able to send me back all those times, and I had to wait a whole year if I wanted to do it again. How is it even possible that you can just summon a new persona and travel through time and space so easily?"

"The twins helped me with that," Goro answers quicker than Ren expected. He's barely expecting much of anything in terms of explanations, but it seems like this time Goro will actually indulge him in all of his scheming.

* * *

_“There is something I need to know,” Goro says, pleasantly surprised when he enters the Velvet Room and only the twins are around to talk to him. Good. He’s certain Igor’s wouldn’t be too pleased to hear about his new idea, “One can hide their true identity, control the shadows and manipulate them to their hearts content. The other has infinite possibilities, switching masks and adapting to each situation as required. What then, is my place in all of this? Has it always been to drive people psychotic?”_

_Despite their master not being here, even Caroline is hesitant to answer such a question. Being so far in the game, there must be a reason he asks this question, “Well... what’s it to you? What do you wanna know?”_

_“I sense you have ulterior motives. Do you wish to alter reality?” Justine asks as she flips through the pages on her clipboard, “You too can change the world, if you so desire.”_

_“We told you you’re basically at the centre of this universe, right?” Caroline asks him, “Have you finally figured out what that means?”_

_Goro nods, “Ren’s gone back in time to change my own future so many times my fate has become far too intertwined with the fate of the world. It’s why I’m the one who has to choose what will become of humanity… but you’re implying there is something more I can do.”_

_Justine finally stops on a page and looks up at him, “Breaking the chains holding one back is not the only power held within you. However, changing reality is not as easy as you may think, the trickster should have made you well aware of that.”_

_Caroline nods once, “Yeah, don’t want to be making those mistakes again! Well, guess there are a few ways you could fix your problem… but we’re not going to tell you!”_

_"Would that not defeat the purpose of you acting as my guides?" Goro raises an eyebrow. There sudden hesitance was something Goro expected when coming here, but he's fully prepared to make his case in front of the twins if he has to. They're his only help now._

_Justine smiles and closes her eyes, "He is correct. We are his guides, so it would be unfair if we held everything back from him at such a pivotal moment."_

_Caroline crosses her arms and huffs as dramatically as she can manage, "well...! Fine! Yeah, you've got a special power too, you just weren't ready before so there wasn't any point in us telling you!"_

_Justine opens her eyes and begins flipping through her papers again, "The trickster is what we call a Wildcard. His future holds infinite possibilities, and as such he can wield multiple personas, and fuse them to his heart's content. The avenger did not have such powers, but in order for the game to be just, we were able to gift her with her own unique power. However, you as the observer also hold infinite potential... but unlike the trickster, you had to unlock the truth before accessing your powers fully."_

_"Now that you know everything, you can choose which path you want to walk fully informed," Caroline continues the explanation, "Which means your future is now full of infinite possibilities too! But with your fate tied in with the world, any persona you fuse is going to more powerful than anything we've ever seen before. So, are you ready to fulfill your duty?"_

* * *

“With their help, I fused Robin Hood and Loki into my new persona,” Goro continues his explanation, “I knew you could already fuse your personas to create a different one, and with my powers not being too different from yours I didn’t think it would be too difficult for me either.”

There’s still something Goro isn’t explaining, something that isn’t making a whole lot of sense. Sure, the time travel bit is confusing enough on his own, but he must have talked to Caroline and Justine before they all went to Mementos, fused his personas then so he’d be able to use them in the Velvet Room earlier.

“But you had Loki down with you in the depths, we all saw him,” Ren points out, “How were you able to do that and hide your power from Philemon?”

“Do you not remember?” Goro smirks, “We’re not the only ones with special abilities in this reality.”

* * *

_The empty diner on the rainy day is the only place Goro can come up with where the two of them shouldn’t be interrupted. With Ren working in the model gun shop, Ryuji in the gym, Ann hanging out with Shiho, Yusuke working on what he worries could be his final piece, Futaba beating her high scores and Haru busy at an Okumura Foods meeting, Goro’s certain that their meeting won’t be disturbed, “I’d like to ask you a question.”_

_Makoto huffs as she puts a hand around her hot cup of coffee, “I suppose no matter what I say, you’re going to ask that question regardless. Is this relating to our situation, or my previous work?”_

_Goro ignores her question, and asks his own instead, “You have a power, one different from mine or any of the others, correct? It’s how you appeared to be using two different Personas despite not being a Wildcard. In truth, you could never summon more than one Persona at a time, correct?”_

_“What of it?” Makoto asks, her tone of voice barely indicating any feelings. Goro knows she’s already hesitant to help him with whatever he’s going to ask her._

_Nevertheless, Goro presses on, “Do you think it would be possible to replicate such a power? Or perhaps use it in a different way than you have before? By which I mean, should I want to conceal one of my Personas, make it look like a different one, could you do that?”_

_Makoto lets go of her cup and begins to tap her nails against the wooden table, thinking over the possibility and what it would require her to do, “There could be a way to do that… I’m not quite sure if I could specifically conceal your Persona, but perhaps I could summon Morrigan and make her look like Loki, or Robin Hood, or whoever it is you want her to look like. But let me guess, you don’t want me to tell the others about it, right?”_

_Goro shakes his head, “No. Of course not, the exercise would be completely meaningless otherwise. However, I promise that it is for the best, and it is the only way to get us all out of this. It’s important that no one but the two of us knows about this. Before we go into the Mementos Depths, we should try and see if this is at all possible. Do you have time to come with me to Mementos today?”_

_Makoto nods once, “I freed up my afternoon for this chat since I assumed it would be longer. Bu if it’s truly something that’ll help everyone, then count me in.”_

_“…Very well, let’s see what we can do.”_

* * *

Without touching his mask, the persona appears above Goro once more, “I concealed Lambent from you and the others because I feared Philemon would find out. I don’t think he quite expected me to fuse my Personas and conceal them since it’s not something I’ve ever done before.”

Ren looks up at the persona, his dizziness slowly fading away, “You said we’re in the future…?”

Goro nods, “I’ve been here once before, saw us fighting Yaldabaoth and realised that if I’m able to summon my persona here and go back, then it could be a place we could hide in… at least for a while. It won’t be too long till they find us, but I needed a chance to explain myself to you… even if you won’t remember it,” the persona disappears once more.

“Won’t remember it?” Ren repeats after him, the realisation of what he might do slowly hitting him, “Wait, you’re going to change the past? Goro, you know it doesn’t work! Igor and Yaldabaoth and Philemon, they all tricked me and made me think there is a chance, but we know there isn’t-.”

Goro shakes his head slowly, smiling confidently, “There is a way, and I know you’ll oppose it which is exactly why this is the last time I’ll be talking to you about any of it. I’ll fix this reality. Permanently.”

Ren gets out of his seat and grabs Goro by his wrist before he can reach for his mask, “No. You’re not making the same mistakes as me. Please, Goro… don’t do this. Go back, make the right choice and we can live on together. I’ll fix my mistakes on my own, it’s my burden to carry, not yours.”

Goro doesn’t pull away from his grip, and instead, he chuckles, “Ren… you really are special. Even given an opportunity to live freely, you’d rather choose a reality where you’re enslaved by your past. But…” with his free hand, Goro moves Ren’s fingers away from his wrist, “This isn’t your choice to make, not anymore. Maybe one day you can forgive me, but for now, it’s time to rest.”

“Wh-.”

“Persona!” Goro calls as he rips off his mask, and in the blink of an eye, he leaves Ren standing alone in the empty café as the red rain continues to pour outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly shorter chapter today, but we are getting close to the end now!  
> Did you guys see the trailers on Friday? I am so pumped for p5r and what it all means for Goro!!!


	43. I Won't Let Your Efforts Be In Vain

It takes Goro quite a while to get to where he wants to, mostly due to Ren’s persistence in trying to fix his own timeline, but eventually he finds it, gets exactly where he needs to be, and hopefully he’s not too late, but judging by the state of the cruiser and the guests acting like nothing wrong was happening, he can only presume he’s here before everything goes down.

As he’s passing through the crowds and making his way over to the engine room, he sees a familiar figure rushing up the stairs, red cape fluttering in the wind. It’s easy enough to follow him without being spotted, his former self too determined to find the Phantom Thieves sneaking through the Palace. Eventually, his former self seems to get a hint as to their whereabouts from the other Shadows, and makes a beeline for the engine room, Goro himself behind pillars or in the crowds as he follows the other.

The Shadows don’t seem to pay him any attention, presumably because they think he too is the Goro Akechi that works for Shido and is often seen in the Diet Building, which makes his job a whole lot easier. Getting to the engine room is fairly easy, but it becomes more of an issue when his former self decides to wait for the Thieves to emerge instead of ambushing them straight away. With him standing on one of the rafters above the room, it’s difficult for Goro to enter the room without him noticing, so he waits just like his former self to emerge, and when he here’s the group talking, he quietly sneaks inside and watches the battle, wincing any time he’s hit, or Joker hits him. Eventually, the other is left with no option but to drive himself psychotic, changing into the suit he’d seen Makoto wear in his own timeline.

This time, the battle is much longer, far more gruelling on the Thieves and the psychotic Goro throws out every attack he has at Joker, while the other tries his best to dodge. Goro isn’t too sure when it is that his former self is left trapped on the other side of the bulkhead door, but it must be after the Thieves have beaten him. So, he stays where he is, and eventually, the Black Mask falls to the floor, no energy in him left to fight them.

As the Thieves talk to the Black Mask, Goro tries to make his way over to that side of the ship, rather than standing behind a pillar near the Phantom Thieves. It takes him much longer than he would’ve liked, but he’s on the right side of the bulkhead doors when Black Mask shoots the switch behind Joker.

His cognitive version clutches his stomach and points the gun at Black Mask, who, once he’s done talking to the Thieves, points his own gun at the cognition.

“So, my final enemy is a puppet version of myself… Not bad,” Black Mask says, but just as they both pull the trigger, Goro summons his persona.

“Lambent!” He shouts and throws a physical shield over Black Mask, which repels the cognitive versions bullet, and the two shots seem to be enough to finally down the cognition. However, it doesn’t get rid of the Shadows, which pull their own guns on Goro.

Goro drops down from the rafters above and stands in front of the Black Mask, “You idiots don’t stand a chance against me,” one of them fires their gun, but it’s absorbed by his persona. Goro chuckles darkly, “Very well, you asked for it. Persona!” He shouts, and the Shadows are entirely engulfed by his personas devastating almighty attack.

When the coast is finally clear, he turns around to the kneeling Black Mask, who, with most of his adrenaline now gone is barely staying conscious. Goro offers his hand and help him up, “Let us discuss this elsewhere, shall we?”

* * *

After helping his former self to his own apartment, one far bigger but emptier than his own, Goro helps with patching the other one up, “What is it that makes me become… well, you?” Goro starts off, leaving the other completely baffled.

“What the hell do you mean?” The other answers, glaring at his double, “You’re me, right? In some way or another. Looks are easy enough to fake, but the similarities in your persona and mine can’t be a coincidence. So, it should be me who’s asking; who the hell are you?”

The more he talks to him, the more Goro realises that Ren’s description of an angry boy beaten around by whatever fate threw at him wasn’t a far off description of this version of him, “I’m not quite sure how much of this you’ll believe in, but I am you, a version of you… from a timeline where our mother was killed by Shido and we were left alive with no idea who to target our anger at…”

“Is that why you have a different persona?”

Goro shakes his head as he wraps a particularly nasty wound of his other self in bandages, “No, that is… far more complicated. In truth, I have two reasons for coming here. One was to fix the mistakes of someone close to me, the other… well I suppose I wanted to see what I would have become myself,” he cuts off his other self when he’s about to ask another question, “How I understand it, you’re always doomed to die before December 24th in this world, and I don’t think my being here will change that. So, before that happens, I need you to tell me exactly what it is you’ve done since awakening to your persona.”

His other self bats his hand away from his bandages, “Then if I’m a dead man walking, there’s no use in trying to cover any of these,” he gets off his couch and walks over to the kitchen, putting his shirt back on in the meantime, “You’re planning to undo everything I’ve done so far, aren’t you?”

“Are you going to stop me?” Goro asks, readying himself for the very real possibility his other self will shoot him right then and there. Instead, the other shakes his head and reaches into a cupboard bellow his sink. He pulls a bottle of some kind of expensive looking whiskey, then reaches into another cupboard where he pulls out two glasses,

“One of Shido’s closer associates gave this to me after a particularly good job, claiming that maybe one day I’ll be able to celebrate their victory with them,” he uncaps the bottle and pours them both a glass, “I was tempted to pour it down the sink since I knew I’d never want to celebrate anything of that sort, but instead I ended up letting it collect dust under my sink. I suppose if there’s any time for us to drink it, now would be it.”

Goro stands up straight and joins his other self by his kitchen counter, “You’ve avoided my question. Ren told me part of your story, but I don’t doubt you’ve left some things out even when talking to him.”

“Ren?” the other asks, but he quickly catches on, “Oh, you mean Kurusu… I figured I could spare him the details of describing my mothers’ gruesome suicide but as far as I’m concerned, if I haven’t told him who I’ve targeted over these past two years, I’m sure he can figure it out himself. You on the other hand may have trouble with that if you’re from a place where I never committed my crimes,” he picks up his own glass and downs it in one go. Goro is a little more hesitant on drinking with such an important task ahead of him. He stirs the drink but doesn’t take a sip.

The other walks around his kitchen counter and goes for his jacket. He reaches into its pocket and pulls out a red notebook. He flips through a few pages, and once he’s found the right page, he hands the notebook to Goro, “Starting from here, I’ve noted down the names of all of my targets, mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns alike. If you are going to undo everything, promise me you won’t let Shido win this time around.”

Goro takes the notebook, flips through the pages, and shakes his head, “Do you honestly think I’m going to let the bastard who destroyed us off that easily? Perhaps you do not know yourself as well as you think.”

* * *

He decides to leave Shido for last, if his plan is going to work at all, but it’s easier on him to start with one of the Black Masks latest targets and move from there. It’s then, while looking for Okumura’s Palace that he hits a brick wall. Moving in time with the help of Mementos and Lambent is easy enough when he knows where he wants to go, but it becomes much harder when it turns out Okumura’s Palace wasn’t a fortress, and instead needed a different keyword.

Which was already a difficult task to overcome since this version of Okumura could’ve been, and most likely was, completely different from the one he knew. However, as the Phan-site of this world told him, it still seemed like the Thieves had every intention of going after him without even knowing it was a trap set up by the Black Mask and the rest of the conspiracy.

Which would mean following one of the Thieves until they decided to go to after Okumura was his best bet, but unfortunately, he can only be sure about where one of the Phantom Thieves is.

Unfortunately, time travelling with no option of going back to his own world doesn’t leave him with a lot of money, so a complete disguise is out of the question. Instead, he walks through Shibuya, browsing stores and finding a pair of glasses and a cheap tourist shirt. Back in Shibuya station he locks himself in a bathroom stall where he ruffles his hair, changes into the shirt and puts on the glasses. He considers leaving his jacket and tie there, but eventually decides to bring it with him, since the idea of travelling through time in an ‘I <3 Tokyo’ doesn’t appeal to him quite enough.

Upon leaving the stall, he faces a mirror, where his disguise barely seems to pass. It’s the best he can do in the circumstances, so he leaves the bathroom and quickly he realises that no longer can he hear the hushed voices of the crowds muttering his name as he passes by. The disguise is terrible, but it seems to be enough if people aren’t actively looking for him.

He makes his way to Leblanc like this, and luckily when he gets there Sojiro seems to think he’s just another customer. He sits in the back booth after ordering a regular cup of black coffee and waits until Ren shows up in the café again, unable to hear any movement upstairs, while biding his time with a crossword puzzle.

He looks up when the doorbell rings, but immediately ducks his head when he realises it’s not Ren, but himself showing up in the café today. The other doesn’t seem to pay him any mind, instead ordering his usual and sitting down in his usual spot. Once the coffee’s made, Sojiro goes back to watching the news while his other self picks up a book and begins to read it.

Eventually, Ren does stop by, although it only seems to be brief, not even exchanging any word with his other self before he goes upstairs, then comes back down in new set of clothes. He leaves the café, and that’s when Goro drops the change that pays for his coffee on the table before rushing out behind Ren, grabbing his jacket on his way out.

“Wait!” He hears his other self shout after him, “You forgot your-,” he doesn’t hear anything else as the door closes behind him and rushes off to the station.

He follows Ren all the way to Shinjuku, or in this case, Akira since that’s what Morgana seems to be calling him the whole way there and ends up watching him from a street corner as he sits down across from a fortune teller. That’s when Morgana finally decides to leave the two and go in his own direction, while the two chat for a bit. Eventually, they stand up and walk in the direction of a bench across the street, which is when Goro sees the perfect moment to bump into him ‘by accident’, grabbing his phone from his pocket without the other noticing, and then moving past him into an alleyway.

It’s empty, so Goro pulls out the stolen phone and in a couple of tries manages to guess Akira’s super easy password. He clicks on the MetaNav and pulls up his history, showing him, luckily, Okumura’s Palace as the last one he visited. With the keywords he needed, he leaves the app and locks Akira’s phone again, then finds the guys sitting on the bench with the fortune teller.

He clears his throat loudly, both to bring attention to himself and to lower his voice, “You dropped this,” he says and hands him the phone, “You’re welcome,” he says before Akira even has a chance to respond, then walks away. Fortunately, the other wildcard chooses to stay behind rather than follow him, letting Goro sneak back into the station where he gets on the next train headed to Okumura Foods.

* * *

The space station is a lot harder for him to get through on his own, even with Lambent, than the fortress was with the rest of the team, but he makes sure to take his time and be careful as he approaches each Shadow and defeats them as quickly as possible. It’s hard enough to defeat them with the Thieves, but on his own, he runs out of energy very quickly. The upside at least is being able to use Lambent’s power and break through the doors he knows he would have trouble with otherwise.

He takes longer breaks in the safe rooms, eating some chocolate Ren gave him before entering Mementos which in the Palace seems to have energising properties. When he’s certain he won’t collapse from exhaustion during a fight, he moves on, ripping the masks of the Shadows that he’d seen Ren do countless times when he couldn’t find a way to sneak past them.

He’s lucky enough that Okumura barely registers his presence, as he doesn’t once run into his Shadow self throughout his infiltration. He finds a glowing orb levitating in the middle of one of the backrooms, which he presumes is the treasure. It’s harder when Morgana isn’t there to guide them either, but with that always looking like the treasure prior to them sending a calling card.

He leaves the Palace, satisfied with how much he’d already been able to achieve, but now came the harder part; stealing his treasure without having the Black Mask of this world kill the Shadow. The first idea that comes to him is rather drastic, simply kidnapping himself and locking him up in some hotel room while he deals with the palace and leaves the receipt for his other self, or more likely, Shido to pay for. However, it’s far too risky, for him mostly. The chances that this version had a gun on him at all times were pretty high, and Goro doesn’t like his chances with threatening himself with a toy ray gun. So that option is out.

The next option is waiting for the Thieves to sort it out, but then he has no way of knowing when that would happen, and the longer he stays in this place, the higher the chance of Philemon eventually finding him and punishing him for his rebellion.

He could enter the Palace with the Thieves, and tell them where the treasure is, then stand by the entrance once they go to steal his treasure. The issue now is with convincing the Thieves that he’s with them and not working against them.

Akira would have to be his in this time around.

Akira who probably doesn’t even care for the Goro Akechi of this world, let alone a copy of him.

* * *

He spends the night in a 24/7 diner, ordering only a cup of coffee and not feeling particularly bad about it. He figures a prolonged stay during the night at the diner in exchange for saving humanity from the clutches of evil gods is more than fair on his part. It’s rough nonetheless, but after throwing on his jacket, Goro leaves the diner and makes a beeline for the station.

He sees Akira at the station and pulls out his phone, dialing Ren’s number. It’s a long-shot, but not only does it seem to be the same number, it actually works when Akira picks up the phone, “Hello?”

“Ditch the cat, meet me in the men’s bathroom. We need to chat,” Goro answers in a gruff voice, trying to lower his tone of voice as much as possible.

“Who is this?” Akira asks, and Goro sees him pull away from the phone briefly to check the number.

“You’ve been looking for me in the Metaverse, haven’t you? Well, now’s your chance. All I ask is you come alone. I’m sure you can figure out the consequences of not following my orders,” after the ambiguous threat, he hangs up and makes his way over to the men’s bathroom. Inside there’s one other person. Goro walks over to the mirror, removes his glasses and pats down his hair until it’s normal again, which is just enough time for the other man to leave, and for Akira to enter.

“Akechi?” Akira asks, clearly unsure if this is the person he was talking to over the phone or if this is just a coincidence.

Goro shoves him out the way of the door and locks it, then further blocks it with his own body to prevent Akira from escaping, “You got rid of that nuisance, did you not?”

Akira fixes the glass on his face and his jacket before replying, “So it was you on the phone.”

Goro smirks, “oh please, you already suspected me before this, don’t act as if this is such a surprise to you. Yes, I’m the one you’ve all been not-so-subtly referring to as the Black Mask, just as you and the rest of your friends are all the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.”

“What do you want?” Akira snarls at him, and while he hates putting up the self-righteous smug act, Goro continues to treat Akira like he’s above him.

“You’re going after Okumura, aren’t you?” Goro asks rhetorically, “I’ve found his treasure, and I can show you the path if you haven’t found it yet. All I ask in return is that you send the calling card to him today as you’ve done with all your previous targets and steal his heart. I’m rather pressed for time here. In exchange, I’ll tell you exactly who it is I work for and what their plan is.”

“That’s all? This sounds like a set up,” Akira tells him, and obviously it sounds exactly like one.

Goro shakes his head, “If I were to set you up, I would’ve let you go about your business, followed you and struck at the best opportunity, and considering how careless you’ve been about all of this, you know I would have been able to do it,” he unlocks the door behind him, “Oh, one other thing; if you do happen to run into me out in public, I’d prefer it if you didn’t talk about this plan of ours, and under no circumstances should you tell the rest of this deal. We both know how loud Sakamoto can be, after all.”

Goro opens the door and leaves the bathroom without waiting for Akira to agree to his plan. It’s not like he has much of an option at this point.

He just hopes that neither he nor Akira will run into the real Black Mask of this world before then.

* * *

The next day he fins out about the calling card over the news at the train station, so he waits for the group in the laundromat at Yongen-Jaya, where he’s sure he’ll hear the group coming but won’t be seen by any of them.

“You infiltrated the Palace without us?!” He hears Ryuji shouting after a few hours, “You could’ve gotten yourself killed! What were you thinking dude?!”

“I was worried for Haru,” Akira lies badly, but the rest of the group doesn’t seem to question that at all, “I’m safe now. And this means we’re closer to changing his heart. I sent out the calling card already, so lets go today. You’re all free, aren’t you?”

He doesn’t hear the rest of the conversation, but he doesn’t need to. He activates the MetaNav, and travels to Okumura’s Palace before the rest of the group does. Once he’s inside the Palace again, he waits for the rest of the Thieves to show up.

When they do eventually, Skull is the first to reach for his gun, “The ‘eff?! Wait, you’re that Black Mask dude, aren’t you?!”

Goro waves him off nonchalantly, then points behind him with his thumb, “Do you not have far more important things to be dealing with than my presence? Okumura won’t be waiting forever, you know.”

Joker nods and walks past Goro’s masked figure, “He’s right. We’ll deal with him later. Let’s go.”

The Thieves all run past him, Skull, Queen and Oracle all giving him a once over as they pass by him, but they don’t argue with their leader, and Goro stays behind, waiting at the entrance of the Palace. The footsteps of the Thieves grow quieter, as a figure in front of him comes into shape. The Black Mask of this world steps through and looks over Goro.

“You’re not one of the Phantom Thieves,” Black Mask says and pulls his gun on him, “Get out of my way.”

Goro shakes his head and reaches for his own mask, “I’m far more of a Phantom Thief then you could imagine. I’d ask you to leave this place, but I know you won’t listen.”

“No chance,” Black Mask replies and shoots his gun at Goro.

“Lambent!” Goro shouts as he brings out his Persona. She absorbs the bullet and sends out a nuclear attack at Black Mask, who doesn’t have enough time to react and takes the hit. Goro takes a few steps forward, pulling out his lightsabre and pointing it at the Black Mask, “I won’t let you kill Okumura. Leave.”

“Argh!” Black Mask growls and reaches for his own mask, “Loki!”

The trickster persona goes on the attack, waving its sword at Goro. He jumps out of the way, and once again calls the protection of his persona. This time he doesn’t hold back and sends out a devastating almighty attack. It’s enough to cause Loki to disappear, but the Black Mask doesn’t back down, “Get out of my way!” He shouts, pulling out his serrated sword. He swings it at Goro, who blocks it with his own lightsabre, “Who in the hell do you think you are to stop me?!”

“I’m another you,” Goro tells him, but it’s not going to reach him when he’s like this and he knows it, “You’ll believe me, one day when you’ve lost everything. But right now, I’m sure you couldn’t believe me no matter how hard I tried,” with his free hand, he reaches for his mask one more time, “Give up now, or face the consequences.”

“Do your worst,” Black Mask snarls, reaching for his own mask,

“Loki!”

“Lambent!”

Their personas emerge, and the following attacks blow them both away, sending each one flying to opposite sides of the room. When Goro recovers, he stands up and looks across the room, where he finds Black Mask struggling to stand on his own now. He strides over, take out his ray gun and points it at Black Mask’s head, “I don’t need to tell you a third time, do I?”

“I… can’t… leave…” Black Mask mutters out, still trying to get up. Instead of shooting him as he suggested, Goro balls up his fist and punches Black Mask across the face, causing his visor to shatter and knock him out.

With adrenaline leaving his body, Goro finally notices how despite winning overwhelmingly against his other self, he’s already exhausted by the fight. He’s got a few ideas as to why he’s getting fatigued so quickly, but for the time being, he dismisses it, holsters his gun and picks up Black Mask’s limp body. He gets to the edge of the Palace entrance and drops his other selves body there, where he leaves he Palace. He’ll be bruised in the morning, but at least everyone around will be alive.

Not like he’ll remember any of this if Goro has anything to say about it.

He pulls off his mask again, and looks to Lambent when she reappears, “That’s one down,” he pulls the notebook out from his pocket and gets to the next name, “Principal Kobayakawa… this should be a little easier to deal with.”

* * *

He moves through time, continuing to undo his past mistakes. Most of them aren’t too hard, some don’t even require him to use the Metaverse but simply preventing other people from doing their duty. A driver once finds his truck is missing when he wants to make a delivery. Sure, the company will suffer minimal damages, but at least four people aren’t dead. A train conductor once finds that his entire schedule has been changed, and yes, that day the trains don’t run for a few hours while it takes some time for them to realise the mistake, but at least 80 people aren’t left injured that day.

It’s nowhere near as complex as Okumura’s Palace, at least not until he gets to the Black Masks very first target. Wakaba Ishiiki, a woman he finds in Mementos, but encountering her is still far from anything Goro expected.

“Did you come here to kill me?” The woman asks when Goro approaches, “Or are you here to steal my research? I can’t let it fall into the wrong hands you know.”

Goro shakes his head and takes off his mask, but it isn’t to someone his persona. Instead, he keeps it in his hand as he approaches her, “You’re Futaba’s mother, are you not?”

“Huh?” The Shadow’s yellow eyes grow wide, “Are you going to threaten my daughter?!”

Once again, Goro shakes his head but stops approaching her, “I won’t do anything of the sort. Futaba is a friend of mine… in truth, I want to protect her and her friends. I think you have gotten far too involved with your research, and while I understand how important it is, I think your daughter is starting to believe you think it’s more important than she is.”

Wakaba clenches her fist, “What do you know anyway?! I’ve never seen you before, and you look far too old to be around my Futaba! What the hell are you playing at?!”

“Please, I don’t want to fight!” Goro insists, “You know about this world, the cognitive world, so you know of its infinite possibilities. Then perhaps you will believe me when I say I’m a friend of Futaba’s from the future, a future where Masayoshi Shido put a hit on you and as a result made your daughter believe she led to your suicide.”

“That’s…!” Wakaba shouts, but nothing follows it. It’s a positive sign for Goro, who continues to talk and convince her not to fight him.

“I want your daughter to be happy in a new future I’ll create, one where none of you have to suffer. But I need your help to do that. Please, your research can wait, but your daughter can’t.”

There’s some pause while the Shadow thinks his proposal over, “I... don’t want to hurt my daughter,” she eventually admits, then looks over to him, “My research could never be more important than her well-being… I will work on being a better mother to her, I promise. I need to be there for her.”

Her form slowly disappears, and eventually forms into its own small treasure that drops to the ground once she’s completely gone. Goro picks it up and discovers it to be a handmade card for Wakaba, wishing her a happy Mother’s Day from Futaba.

“Will this truly be enough?”

Goro turns around as he puts the card into the inside pocket of his jacket. On the other side, he sees a girl in a blue dress, that looked very familiar, and yet Goro couldn’t completely place her face and voice, “You’re a velvet room attendant, aren’t you?”

The girl nods, “My master is curious about you, and so he has sent me to look for you. Do not worry, I am simply here to observe, not to hinder your progress. My name is Lavenza.”

“Lavenza…” Goro repeats, and it finally hits him. While he’s never met the girl before, he has heard the name once before, a long time ago when Ren first told him about his past, “You helped Ren, didn’t you? Do you remember that?”

Lavenza nods, “I’ve watched the path he was on, and now I watch as you repeat this cycle. Which is why I ask; will this truly be enough?”

Goro shakes his head, “No, I have plenty more to do if I’m going to destroy this reality.”


	44. There's No Way I'll Ever Regret It

In the blink of an eye, Goro shows up in the middle of the street in Shibuya in broad daylight. Not exactly where you want to be when the light for the crossing turns red right, especially not when the light for the crossing is red and cars have already begun to move. Just at the last minute, someone grabs his arm and pulls him off the street and onto the pavement. Goro looks to see who his saviour is, finding none other than the person he was hoping to run into without spending too much time searching for them, “Are you alright?” a younger Niijima Sae asks him.

Goro nods and fixes up his jacket, “Yes, thank you very much, I was… lost in thought I suppose,” he tries to come up with an excuse but he’s not sure if his feeble lie will pass by the prosecutor. Even if she catches his lie, she doesn’t comment on it whatsoever.

“Just look out for traffic, it’s bad to get lost in thought right before a car hits you,” she turns around and keeps walking in the direction of central street.

Goro waits before moving, giving her some time to get ahead of him, but in the end he follows her without being spotted rather easily due to how packed the street gets, hoping he’s roughly where he wants to be. Navigating time travel when you don’t even know the exact date of where you want to be is rough, and he’s only got so many attempts left with far too much work to be done.

Sae walks up to an older man, smiles at him, and soon after they’re joined by a younger Makoto. The three of them enter the diner across the street, and a few minutes later, Goro himself follows inside. Luckily for him, the table right behind them is empty, so he takes a seat, orders some coffee and eavesdrops on their conversation.

“Your case must be going well if you have time to eat out with us,” Sae points out while they wait for their food to arrive, “It’s been quite some time since we were able to eat together.”

The man, presumably their father, nods enthusiastically, “You know I cannot talk to you about my cases, but yes, I do have some free time now and my schedule will free up in the coming days. I wonder if maybe I’ll be free enough this Sunday to do something with the two of you. Perhaps we can have a picnic in the park?”

Makoto’s eyes light up at the idea, “Yeah, a picnic would be really nice. I’ll try to prepare lunch after cram school.”

Goro tunes out of the conversation, knowing that the Niijima’s father wouldn’t give up just how far along he is in his investigation or what he's even investigating in the first place out in public. He opens up the notebook his previous self gave him and reads through the meticulous notes, unable to find anything about a hit on Niijima at first. He knows that there’s a good chance that whatever gang killed him is connected to Shido, one way or another, so he starts to look through the pages involving Shido’s connections. The yakuza hitman comes up, and as much as he’d love to enact his own justice in the real world against that man, it’s not what he’s here for, and he knows it can’t be the same man given that Makoto had disposed of everyone involved in the case right before her involvement with Shido.

The next up is Kaneshiro, the mob boss whose heart was changed by the Phantom Thieves both in Goro’s world and apparently in his doubles. Again, unlikely since he was there to see the change of heart happen himself.

He comes across one other name, not one he’s heard of in his time at the SIU. It’s that of a local gang leader, with the letters ‘NX’ written next to it with today’s date. In his own investigations he’s never come across the gang, but if the other Goro wrote it down, there must be some sort of connection between that gang and Shido. Slowly, Goro begins to connect the dots between the two. If the gang had in fact been the one that killed Niijima’s father, and Makoto never found out who it was, then of course they’d still be around in this universe, but gone from his own.

The ‘NX’ must then refer to Niijima dying… and the date being the day he dies.

When he looks up from his notes, he notices the complete silence in the diner. It’s empty, and the Niijima’s had somehow already eaten and left. Was he really concentrating that hard that he completely missed all of this? If he messes this up, then who knows what’ll happen with the timelines.

He rummages his pockets until he finds the right change, leaves it on the table and runs out of the diner. As soon as Goro’s out on Central street, he searches for the Niijima’s, keeping an eye out for Sae’s distinct hair or Makoto’s Shuujin uniform.

He runs into an alleyway and sees Niijima trying to get a taxi at the busier road on the opposite end while Sae and Makoto lean again the wall of the alleyway, both looking down and typing away on their phones.

Goro runs down the alleyway as a precaution, but his worry becomes reality when he gets to the end and a few cars away sees a large truck speeding in their direction with the driver asleep behind the wheel,

“Move!” He shouts to Niijima’s father as he grabs him by the arm and pulls him into the alleyway. The truck crashes into the side on the building, but not even the driver seems to be harmed by the accident, airbag saving him.

Goro lets go of his arm and turns around, almost running into Sae before he can make his escape, “It’s you… how did you-.”

“I suppose that makes us even,” Goro says before he runs back down the alley again, with Sae and her father shouting after him. It’s only when he’s in the train station that he stops running, checking back a few times to see if anyone was following him. He finds a secluded corner, pulls out his phone and finds the MetaNav, “Three down, four to go.”

* * *

One after another, Shadows pop up in the museum of vanity and no matter how much Goro slashes away at them with his lightsabre they continue their onslaught. It’s far too early for the Phantom Thieves to have come in here or bothered Madarame enough that his guard would be up, so either his Palace had just formed, or the gods were getting that much closer to finding him. He prays it’s the first.

Finally when the last of the Shadows dissipates into black mist, he moves on until he finds the treasure deep inside the gallery. In front of it stands Madarame himself, looking around desperately for the guards, but none seem to arrive, “Have you no respect for the arts?!”

“I have no respect for those who step on others to further their own agenda,” Goro tells him monotonously, sheathing his lightsabre, “You’ve already used far too many people for fame and monetary gain, and it seems as though nothing but a change of heart will change that.”

“Hmph,” Madarame folds his arms, “And that is what you are here for? My security will stop you before you can even think of stealing my treasure.”

Goro shakes his head, “That isn’t what I’m here for,” he nods to the distorted treasure, then looks over to Madarame once more, “Your distorted desires came from that painting, correct? The Sayuri?” Madarame doesn’t reply, but his nervous glance over to the treasure tips off Goro. He turns around and walks back in the direction he came from, “Do not worry, I’ll make sure you’ll never have that desire again. You and everyone else.”

* * *

His next step takes much longer than anything before it, though it’s hard for Goro to tell how much longer. The time travel had distorted his own sense of time. It could have been years; it could have just been hours since he last saw Ren.

The Shadows along the way don’t seem as aggressive anymore, treating him like he’s meant to be there, almost like he’s just another Shadow. It would worry Goro if he had the time for such a thing but he accepts it and moves on with his mission.

He calls for an ambulance the night Yusuke’s mother was supposed to die and decides to check in every now and then to make sure she’s still able to pursue her career and care for her son. Without the Sayuri and the idea of plagirising his students work as his own, Madarame starts up a normal art school and with the help of Yusuke’s mother. It prospers over the years. It’s only then that Goro’s certain he can leave them safely.

With Yusuke safe and Madarame’s desire gone, Goro moves onto his next target.

* * *

Kamoshida takes some figuring out, but once Goro comes up with a plan, it’s easy enough for him to start it out. All it takes is taking his place in this world for a brief amount of time and speaking with the president of the TV station- a man Goro knows is in Shido’s pocket.

“I have a proposition, sir,” Goro asks in his fakest voice, the kind one that makes him seem like the smartest angel in the world, “I was thinking about how we could boost each sector of our conspiracy, and while the mental shutdowns are effective, I feel we could work on expanding our work from more than just one angle.”

“Oh?” The president asks although he doesn’t seem all that interested in what he has to say, “What do you suggest, Akechi-kun?”

“Well, having me appear on your shows is one thing, but detective work doesn’t appeal to all audiences… I was thinking of perhaps setting up an ad campaign with a former athlete. It could benefit more than just our short-term plan.”

This time the president starts to pay more attention to what he has to say, “I assume you have someone in mind already, correct?”

“Kamoshida Suguru,” Goro tells him before showing the president a file he prepared ahead of time, “Former Olympic champion who will certainly be interested in reliving his old glory. The older generation that I do not appeal to will perhaps be more interested in a hero from their time, wouldn’t you agree?”

Busy looking over the file, the president barely acknowledges Goro anymore. Not that it changed his attitude towards the detective to begin with, “Yes, yes, those are all excellent points. Very well,” he looks up from the file to Goro, “I’ll have a closer look into this and let you know what I think. I see there is more to you than just a pretty face we can show to the cameras.”

As much as he struggles not to grab the back of the president’s head and smash it against the man’s desk, he laughs it off, “Oh, there is no need to inform me or give me the credit if this works. Considering the exposure you are giving me; I believe we are even.”

Goro leaves the president’s office and tries to get to the closest bathroom before his luck runs out and he runs into himself again. It’s a good thing the guy barely even knew who Goro was at this point and didn’t even notice that the sixteen-year-old looked far too old to be sixteen.

At least one more person should be taken care of. A person Ryuji and Ann will never have to deal with.

* * *

“Akira, I’d like to speak with you,” Goro says, adjusting his fake glasses. The teen walks over to him sheepishly while the rest of his classmates look back at him with teasing grins. Goro shoos them out of his classroom, and shuts the door behind the last one before turning to the 1st year, “You’ll be taking entrance exams in two years for college, correct? Or do you have other plans for the future?”

Akira shrugs awkwardly and looks down at the floor, “It’s a while away. I thought I might have some time to think about it before then. I’m not exactly talented or anything though.”

“Have you thought about applying for a transfer?” Goro asks him and continues with an explanation when the teen gives him an odd look, “It is something that separates you from other students. Students without particular talents or high marks try to set themselves apart by having extracurriculars, but as far as I’m aware, you do not attend any after school clubs,” Akira shakes his head, “Well then? I can recommend you for a school in Tokyo. It would be quite far, and you’d have to find the lodgings there with the help of your parents, but I believe it’s a fantastic opportunity.”

“Why me?” Akira asks, “Like you said, I don’t have any particular talents or anything.”

“Why not you?” Goro throws back at him, “If you wish to stay in your hometown then I understand, but I advise you extend your horizons as much as possible.”

“…I’ll think about it. Um… thank you, sir,” Akira says and leaves the classroom in a rush.

Once the door shuts, Goro sighs and rubs his head, “I’m not getting _that_ old, am I? I hoped that if he ever called me that, it would be as a joke of some kind.”

**Do you believe you have the time to think over this so much? You have spent quite a while in this timeline already.**

Goro closes his eyes and nods, “I believe I’ve managed to hide away from them for some time now… but you are correct. I shouldn’t test my luck further,” he removes the glasses and undoes the tie on his hair. He ruffles it a little before pulling his old phone out and tapping on the MetaNav, “let’s go, Lambent.”

When he opens his eyes, he’s no longer in the classroom, but on a dark street corner not too far from Akira’s home. He hears a woman screaming for help, followed by drunk shouting of the person Goro was putting off seeing for as long as possible.

“Get in the car!”

“No, please, someone help!”

Goro quickens his pace until he reaches the two and places himself in between the woman and Shido, “Leave her alone, pervert.”

“This isn’t any of your business, get lost,” Shido replies, barely able to stop himself from wobbling on his feet. He throws his arm up and swats the air to emphasise his point, but it almost knocks him over.

“I’m not leaving this woman alone with the likes of you,” Goro insists and looks at the woman, “Leave. I’ll deal with him by myself.”

“Oh yeah?!” Shido laughs, “You can’t do anything to me. I own the police; they’ll arrest anyone that gets in my-,”

**_FWAK._ **

With one punch to his face, Shido falls onto the concrete pavement and passes out. The woman screams once again and runs away this time, which doesn’t bother Goro in the slightest. At least Shido can’t bother her anymore, and Akira can’t get arrested for a crime he never committed. And Goro got to punch the man he hated most in the world right in his smug face. He’d almost be content to end his mission right here right now on this high note.

Almost.

* * *

The energy he has left over is just enough to make his final trip to the past, so far that he was sure he wouldn’t run into himself. It leaves him in Shibuya station, still packed but a little unfamiliar to him. Some buildings show up that he’d never seen before, others are completely missing. The posters are all old, and the technology around him is ancient. He makes sure to pocket his phone so that it doesn’t stand out too much and starts to look around for the last person he came to see.

He moves his head left and right, keeping a sharp eye out for the distinct long brown hair and red eyes. The crowds make it difficult to find her, and slowly Goro begins to lose hope. He keeps going, but the longer he looks, the more he thinks he wasted his last chance to change everything. He tries to walk towards Central street, and almost walks into a woman when he’s too busy looking in the other direction.

“Ah! Sorry!” The young woman apologises, even though it was his fault in the first place for walking into her, “Are you alright?”

“Huh?” Goro asks and looks down at the woman. She’s much shorter than he remembered, but of course she would be. When he was small, his little hand would barely reach his own mothers, “Oh, no, this is absolutely my fault. Why did you feel the need to apologise to me?”

“Oh… I’m not quite sure,” his mother replies, “It’s a habit I have, to apologise for everything… I’ll be on my way now-,”

“Wait,” Goro tries to stop her before she can leave, “I’m not sure if you have the time, but maybe I could remedy my mistake by buying you a cup of coffee?” He asks her, and she looks at her watch before looking back over to him.

“I’m supposed to be meeting someone for an interview… but I think I might still have a little time left.”

Goro smiles and leads her back inside the station, “An interview, you say? What kind of job are you interviewing for, if you don’t mind me asking?”

His mother waves her hand and shakes her head, “Oh it’s nothing that interesting, just a secretarial job for some low-level politician. Although perhaps it will help me get a foot into a larger job market. It doesn’t help to try, right?”

Goro doesn’t answer that straight away, thinking about how likely it was that she was talking about having an interview with the man Goro had knocked unconscious just one time travelling trip ago. Considering the timing, he’s fairly certain he landed exactly where he wanted to, “is that what you really wish to do?”

“Huh?” His mother asks, “What do you mean?”

“Well… I apologise if this comes off as rude but it sounds like you’re not taking this job because you want it at all, but because it could provide you with an opportunity to get better at a job you’re not interested in… am I right in thinking so?” Goro asks, trying not to sound too arrogant. He can’t scare her away like that.

But instead of insulting her or scaring her, his mother doesn’t react in the way he expected at all, and laughs, “What are you, some kind of detective?” Goro smiles and shakes his head, “Well, you should definitely consider a career in that… because, well, you’re right,” she looks down, “In all honesty, it just sounded like a good way to make some money until I can pursue what I really want to… but it’s just going to cause me to never leave that job, huh?”

They reach the coffee place, and while his mother thinks over her future, Goro orders one coffee for her, “Well, I’m just some stranger who bought you coffee, I have no idea if that’s how you truly feel… but these doubt certainly don’t sound encouraging,” he pays for the coffee with the remainder of his money and hands it over to her. He pretends to look at the clock and sighs, “Well, I hope you make the right decision. Have a good day.”

His mother nods, accepting the coffee, and she smiles at him with closed eyes, “Thank you very much. I hope you have a wonderful day as well… and thank you for the life changing advice.”

His mother turns and walks away, leaving the station instead of getting on the next train.

“Life changing…” Goro says as he looks down at his glowing hand. No one seems to pay attention to him as parts of his body turn into golden dust and disappear in the wind.

"It certainly seems that way, yes," Lavenza, the only one who pays him any attention says as she walks over to his side, "This world is already falling apart, and will take quite some effort to repair. You will suffer the consequences of this, undoubtedly... are you ready for that?"

Goro nods and looks down at her, "I was ready since I defied the gods. I knew I couldn't run away from them forever... although I do appreciate the help. It was you who helped me navigate to where I wanted, correct? I find it quite the coincidence that someone as inexperienced as me managed to get to all the right places every time I used the app, even when I wasn't sure of the specific date of certain events."

Lavenza looks up at him, nods once, then looks back towards the people who don't pay them any attention as they rush to make their trains, "I am a velvet room attendant, I exist to serve and aid the wildcard in their journey... there are no rules which prevent me from helping you destroy reality as long as I do not interfere with your decision... huh?"

Just as Goro's body begins to disappear, butterflies begin to fly around both of them, "My time is up, isn't it? I'm ready to go back to the Velvet Room."

Lavenza reaches out and takes his hand, "Allow me to join you on this final journey, Akechi Goro."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started uni again and did not expect to get so tired every day.... but I finally have this chapter done!


End file.
